Bubblegum
by saichanlovestoad
Summary: Tallest Purple longs to have a smeet that looks like him, so the Tallest turn to the only Irken they know who can have smeets naturally: Zim. Unfortunately, they're not the only ones interested.
1. Chapter 1

A/N- I do not own Invader Zim and am not making any money off this fic.

This is an Mpreg slash fic. You don't like, don't read. I personally like it. There are several crack pairings in this one as well, including Tallest/Zim, Skoodge/Zim, Sizz-Lorr/Zim, and others. The main pairing is ZADR, though. This story also comes with warnings: Oral sex, fisting (sexual term for shoving knuckle into privates), strong language, graphic detail, repeated Mpreg, nonconsenual sex (ie-rape), fetishism, and use of toys. Any other warnings will be added on later. No flames. You've been warned.

For more crack pairings, go take my poll! The winning couple will get a sexy M rated oneshot!! Please and thank you.

Enjoy. Love, Sai-chan.

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The condom was wrapped in bubblegum pink plastic so that it looked like a small piece of candy. Dib stared down at it in what could only be described as mild amusement. He wasn't sure if he would ever use it, as he knew the brand was probably the most unreliable on the market. Still, he'd taken it when his sex education/math teacher had passed around a giant bin of the things. Everyone in the class had taken at least one, if only to appease the otherwise erratic teacher. Of course, none of the students needed the condoms. As far as Dib knew, just about everyone in the class kept a couple spares in their wallets. After all, he really couldn't name one of them that wasn't sexually active. Half of his graduating class was pregnant or attempting to become so. Thus, it was virtually a complete waste of money for the teacher to have bought and handed out all those pink condoms. Nevertheless, he had taken one.

Walking down the sidewalk on his way home, Dib turned the pink rubber over before pocketing it. He wouldn't use it, but at least he had it if he needed it. Unlike the majority of his classmates, Dib wasn't 'sexually active'. That wasn't to say he was a virgin, for he wasn't. He'd lost his virginity when he was fourteen to an unnamed assailant by the school parking lot in the backseat of a purple car. He'd never mentioned this to anyone, although several people claimed that they knew he wasn't a virgin anymore. Even if he wasn't a virgin anymore, he wasn't sexually active. Dib couldn't say he had taken a vow of secondary virginity. He would accept any interesting advances if there were any. As it stood, though, there weren't and he had fallen into a form of graphic celibacy. After all, there was still his staggering amount of exposure to sex in the way of high school and the internet. Either way, Dib found himself uninterested in what he saw and heard. He had experienced what he wanted to relive. Until the opportunity arose where he could do it all over again, he maintained his solitude.

Sighing then, he turned right rather than left at the fork in the road at the end of the block. To the left was his actual home, where he knew his younger sister would be heading to bombard the television with video games. To the right was a lengthy strip of sidewalk the eventually lead to a small cul-de-sac. This was where he headed. The sun was high in the air, creating a sauna like feel to the stretch of pavement he strolled down. Dib knew that there was really no reason to be putting himself through this grueling walk. He should have just gone home and settled into his plush computer chair to surf the net for footage of alien life forms. Instead, he started down that path to the cul-de-sac where that awkward little green house was nestled between two bigger apartment buildings.

Within about ten minutes, he approached this strange homestead. The yellow fence lead to the walkway right up to the brightly colored house. Dib glanced idly at the gnomes as he jumped the gate and landed on the soft ground. He saw the eyes of those androids glow red, but they didn't fire any lasers. He waved to them, knowing that there were cameras attached to them, then made his way up to the front door. He rang the doorbell with the 'ring me' written around it. A sound echoed deep within the place, resounding much further then the minuscule length of the floor plan. For a second, Dib stood there in the summer heat, waiting. Then there were a couple screams, one in an utterly foreign language, before the door was pulled open.

Standing there, huffing and puffing, was Irken Invader Zim. His false human purple eyes stared at Dib in annoyance that seemed a bit excessive. The black wig he wore was slightly askew, the locks falling down in straight streaks to his shoulders. He was dressed in his usual military uniform, except in that he wasn't wearing his gloves. In one hand, he held them. Seeing that it was only Dib, though, he stuck out his tongue and shuffled away from the door. He began to tug his gloves on using a mixture of his teeth and his fingers. As he did, Dib slipped inside and shut the door.

" What're you doing here, Dib-human? I told you to just send the homework through the computer transmissions tonight," Zim stated, pulling off his wig and tossing it onto his couch. Dib gave a one armed shrug. He merely dropped his backpack onto the floor and scooped up the soft wig.

" Yeah, I know. I was just bored. I figured I could come on over. Maybe we could play video games or spy on the other Invaders or I don't know, something," he answered absentmindedly. He followed the alien through the living room to the mismatched kitchen/bathroom. Zim trooped over to the newly installed pantry lift and punched the arrow pointing down. Both of them stepped aboard the narrow lift that was about four by four feet, " Did I catch you at a bad time?"

" As a matter of fact, you did. ZIM!" he announced his name in that dramatic way he tended to do, " Has a transmission conference with my Tallest in about ten minutes. I have to report in my latest discoveries about this pitiful dirt clod you call home. I can't miss it or my Tallest will worry. As it stands, though, you may attend, as you are already here. Your testimony could prove useful,"

" Testimony?" Dib questioned as the red light above the sliding doors of the lift suddenly lit up. The doors whizzed open, revealing a long, winding hallway like the numerous ones that made up the underground base of the alien. Zim marched out of the lift, leading the way to where ever his conference call was going to be made from. The human hurried to keep up with his sauntering stride, " Testimony for what, exactly?"

" How humans reproduce,"

At that, Dib stopped walking. For a moment, he wondered if he had misheard Zim. Of course, having known the Irken for the better part of a decade, he knew there was no way he'd misheard him. Swallowing dryly, then, he continued to walk down the metal road that was probably twenty or more feet underground. He wasn't sure why he was so surprised that Zim was going to be discussing the human mating rituals and reproduction cycles with his race's leaders. He was, after all, an alien invader. His job on Earth was to research the humans in order to collect valuable information that would be used in a hostile takeover some time in the future. Regardless, Dib gave Zim a bit of a strange look as he mulled over what he thought the alien might know about sex and babies and pregnancy.

As much as he knew about Zim, he assumed whatever it was, it was wrong or at least, partly wrong. Zim may have been qualified in the destruction part of his job, but Dib knew that the information gathering part was lacking. Part of that was simply because Zim was often caught up in some random act of evil, mostly directed at school mates or others who frustrated him. Part of it was sheer incompetence. Sensing this, Dib decided to stick with him and offer his insight during this conference. For everything that had ever come between them, the human didn't want his species most intimate ritual turned into something silly and stupid over an intergalactic broadcast between invaders.

Noble as the desire was, Dib knew better then anyone how crazy it sounded for him to be aimlessly wandering through an alien's military base without even the slightest indication of putting an end to the inevitable takedown Zim intended for his home planet. Yet, he wasn't going to pull out a camera and start filming the encounter with aliens or anything of the sort. He wasn't going to tackle his once enemy and demand he put a stop to whatever scheme he might have in the works. Rather, he just glanced around at the somewhat familiar light fixtures and piping on the walls. He heard the maniac laughter of Gir and just smiled. He followed Zim deeper into the base until they reached the intercom room. There was a giant screen in the room, taking up the majority of the wall, as well as a control panel and some other random junk that meant nothing to the human. Whereas the Irken marched over to the control panel and began setting up for his transmission, Dib just sat down on one of the square looking blocks. He didn't plug anything in to disrupt the signal. He didn't pour acid or anything over the controls to prevent this communication. He just started to play with the wig he continued to hold on to.

There were a million possible things he could have said or done that would have made the paranormal society proud. Dib didn't do any of them, though. As he had learned years ago, it was completely pointless to try and stop Zim. He knew it would be pretty easy. His alien counterpart wasn't entirely sane and his security had numerous, glaring flaws to it. There were plenty of opportunities to sabotage him. However, Dib had eventually figured out that there was nothing that would get Zim to leave Earth. As he had discovered, Zim wasn't leaving partly because he was stubborn and partly because he had nowhere else to go. Dib wasn't sure as to why, but Zim wasn't allowed to go back to his home planet. He couldn't really get the alien to be upfront about it, but, from what he could tell, something had happened and he couldn't return until he had proved himself a worthy Invader. That sounded like it could be potentially dangerous for Earth. The other piece of information Dib had gathered, though, was that Zim wouldn't really be conquering Earth until the Irken Armada arrived with the Tallest and rest of the military. For another unknown reason, it didn't seem like the Armada would ever be landing on Earth to help Zim annihilate the planet.

Upon learning this, Dib had initially wanted to ridicule Zim about his apparent failures. Instead, a different side of the human had emerged. The side that was vastly curious about alien life and the worlds that existed beyond the Milky Way. Over the course of a year, Dib had decided that, as Zim wasn't really a threat to Earth, he wanted to get to know him, if only to get information on aliens and Irk and everything. He had been met with a wall of opposition, of course, as the alien himself wasn't keen to the idea of befriending something he intended to destroy. The moment when both had agreed to disagree on the future of the planet and put aside those differences for the sake of personal gain came in seventh grade.

After spending two years on Earth, Zim had yet to grow any taller. That was, of course, because he had already reached his full height. He was considered small and short on Irk. On Earth, he was still at the height of a young child when he was supposed to be hitting puberty in a couple of years. In his desperation to blend in, Zim had been forced to seek out help from the only person who knew he was an alien. Dib had spent a year searching in vain for a way to breech the gap between the two of them. Suddenly, he had his moment to shine. He readily accepted the plight of the frustrated alien. Together, they had examined the contents of the Pak attached to Zim's back. Not only was it incredibly important to his life, but it contained all the information about him. Although Dib couldn't read Irken, he learned a couple things just by the diagrams. The first and foremost had made him stop and stare at Zim for the longest time since the very first time he had ever met him.

Irken Invader Zim, the Almighty alien annoyance, was female.

The Irken term wasn't female. For all tenses and purposes, he wasn't really a female. He just had a certain feature about his anatomy that made Dib think of him as being a traditional female. To be honest, it was more or less, a lack of something about his anatomy. To that end, Zim didn't have any form of shaft that Dib could see on a diagram of the alien's body. When he'd been looking through the diagrams, trying to locate one that was supposed to show a chart on all of the other's measurements and functions, he had stumbled upon what appeared to be a graphic drawing of Zim, completely and utterly naked. Seeing a smooth surface down below, Dib had practically choked to death on his sharp intake of air that doubled as a gasp. He had spat out that he didn't know Zim was a girl and had apologized for calling him a 'he' for the past two years. Like always, the alien had been confused as to what he was rambling on about. Dib had fumbled around to tell him that he didn't know he was a female.

What followed had been hysterical laughter and Dib's very first lesson into Irken anatomy and gender. Zim wasn't a female, not by Irken standards anyways. He was most definitely male. At his privates, he had a long slit that went from his lower belly to between his legs that opened up to a tender cavity inside. Inside there was a surface that constituted as a shaft, as well as sacs that were his balls. They were inside him for that's just how Irken were built nowadays. As Zim explained it, to further their species, the Irkens had removed the need to procreate by removing the genitalia that the aliens had once possessed; males had a shaft and females had a cavity that lead to uterus of sorts. Nowadays, males were built like Zim, whereas females had an empty cavity. Irkens thus reproduced by artificial means by way of test tubes and computer programming. Zim failed to mention how Irkens made love anymore, but did make mention that it was still possible for some rare Irken to conceive life naturally. He didn't go into that, though. After that explanation, he had merely laughed away the idea that he could possibly be female.

Despite technically being a girl, Dib had learned to accept that Zim wasn't female. He eventually shrugged off the diagram as an 'alien thing' and continued his search for the correct chart. Throughout the search, though, he had wondered what Zim actually looked like naked. He had withheld the request until after he had located the chart with Zim's measurements and the like on it. From there, the process Dib had been asked to aid in began. The two of them had put their heads together to perfect a way to make the alien taller. In due time, they had discovered a way to manipulate the information so that the Pak would ultimately change the way Zim appeared in actuality. Adjusting his height to match something of a normal human height, five three, they had set the Pak to adjust his body to match. The process had been impressively painful to behold, not to mention experience. In the end, however, Zim's body had been changed to the correct height.

Accordingly, he had filled out to match his new height. Dib had been impressed, he had to say, by what Irkens looked like when at human proportions. Zim had a shapely, slender form with curved hips and a rounded bottom. The human had been unable to stop grinning as the alien had stood up and examined his body. He hadn't noticed that his uniform had torn around the seams until Dib had gasped out in shock all over again. As the uniform had been nearly ripped off, Dib had gotten to see just what Zim looked like naked. He had stared, speechless, at the surprisingly attractive slit that smoothed up the other's front. Before he could take a closer look, however, Zim had figured out he was basically naked and had quickly clothed himself in a spare jacket that he'd used as a disguise in the previous years. The thing at been tight around his hips, but covered his privates. Shortly thereafter, Zim had radioed in to his Tallest to receive new uniforms and everything, as well as to explain his increased height.

From that moment on, the war between the two seemed to become an unspoken matter. On Dib's part, he was far too curious about Irkens to want to kill the only one he knew. For Zim, he needed help adjusting to human life more then he'd assumed, so he kept around the only one he could trust. They both knew that perhaps one day they would be facing each other with lasers and guns again, should the Armada ever actually arrive. Until then, though, they shook hands on a truce. To that end, they both decided they needed some sort of leverage over the other to continue with their brutal friendship. Zim had implanted a chip into Dib's neck that would blow the human's head off should the signal from Zim's Pak shut off for over a week; that was only possible if the alien died. Dib, on the other hand, had taken several photographs of Zim without his disguise and of the Voot Cruiser that proved without a doubt that he was an alien. Should Zim ever betray Dib, he could turn him in and he would be dissected. Should Dib ever betray Zim, his head would explode a week later. To sweeten the deal, both of them had given the other coordinates to their home town as well as some juicy gossip. Dib admitted that he had sabotaged the launching of an alien communicator because he wanted to be the first to communicate with aliens. Zim confessed to having cheated his way through his piloting exam by blowing up his trainer because he wouldn't be allowed to become an Invader with shoddy piloting scores.

With that blackmail in place, the two's relationship had evolved from a screaming match to a bittersweet friendship. The two still got into tiffs about Earth and human things. However, they also goofed off by playing virtual video games by launching mini Voot cruisers into space and piloting them from their own homes. They scribbled notes back and forth from class to class about idle gossip. Zim introduced Dib to the Tallest and enlisted him in spying on the other Invaders. Dib taught Zim about Earth and asked him to help play pranks on school bullies. Together, they grew up during a six year long friendship. They had inside jokes, memories, and secrets that they kept between just the two of them. They called each other at random when bored, visited the other's house for long periods of time, and even developed pseudo pet names; Zimmy and Dibbie, respectfully. They had, dare he think it, become friends.

For that reason alone, Dib didn't do anything remotely paranormal while he sat on that metal block something in the middle of Zim's base. He twirled his fingers around the silky smooth black locks of the wig still held in his hands. The alien, though, typed away on the massive keyboard in the center of the control station. An Irken symbol then appeared on the screen much like a dial tone. There was a pause, then an alien dressed in a jacket that covered his mouth appeared on the screen. Dib arched an eyebrow at the random communication tech, briefly wondering if Zim was having issues sending out a signal to his mothership. The tech stared at Zim for a second before both hesitantly saluted one another out of respect for the other's position.

" The Almighty Zim!" Zim started off, cutting whatever the tech was about to say short, " Is expected to make a transmission to the Tallest today regarding my ongoing mission on planet Earth. Patch me through, or feel the wrath of the IRKEN ELITE!!!"

" Uhh. . ." the tech paused in confusion, his eyes gaining a truly bewildered look. Dib snickered under his breath, having dealt with Zim's antics long enough to be used to his frequent changes in pitch and habit of speaking in third and first person interchangeably. Clearly, this alien was not, for it took him about three tries to get out what he was attempting to say, he was so flustered, " The Tallest are not aboard the Massive, Zim. They have. . . stepped out for the day,"

" Enh? Stepped. . . out?" Zim repeated slowly, his eyes narrowing first in confusion of his own, then irritation. He waved his hand dismissively at the tech, " Impossible. The Tallest would never leave on the day of my report. You must be mistaken. I demand you patch me through to them and cease with these silly little games,"

" Zim. . . I'm not joking. The Tallest are _not_ here,"

" YOU'RE LYING!!!!" he screeched, pointing at the screen without the slightest hesitation. Dib wanted to tell the tech to save himself the trouble and just cut the transmission, but he didn't. He knew better then to interrupt one of Zim's intergalactic phone calls.

" No. . . I'm not. I'm telling you, they're not here! I have other calls to patch through!" the tech protested, jabbing his finger off screen at something neither of them could see. Zim was beginning to grow agitated, his antennae slicking back in apparent anger. The human smiled to himself as he petted the wig in a semi amused way, " So, have a good day,"

" No! Wait! Don't!" Zim yelled out as the screen went black without much warning. He blinked and stared up at the thing in shock, his face nearly blank of all emotion. Letting out a wild, meaningless wail, he slammed his fists into the dark glass, " No! My Tallest! Dammit! I prepared all night looooong for this transmission! I have the Dib! I have charts! I have a really cool introduction! ZIM demands that you listen to him! My Tallest! Dammit! Answer me!!"

" Uh. . . Zim?" Dib asked quietly as the alien punched the intercom button. He knew Zim was attempting to radio back into the Massive, but he wasn't entirely sure he ought to. If the tech had been telling the truth, then there simply was no point. If he had been playing a joke, however, the last thing the Tallest needed to see was Zim furious and cussing should he establish another connection. Thus, Dib slipped off the random block thing and shuffled over to where Zim was typing rapidly on the controls, " Hey, maybe they really weren't there? They are the leaders of an entire race. They're probably busy,"

" Nonsense, Dib-human! My Tallest, too busy for Zim?! NEVER!!!" he declared loudly, jabbing the other in the chest. Dib swatted his hand away, which earned him a darker glare. Jerking away from the human, Zim continued to try to get in contact with his leaders. Dib let him try for amount a minute longer, then reached out and snatched up one of his wrists, " Enh? Why're you touching Zim?"

" As much as I'd like to spend my afternoon watching you play with your computer, I thought we could do something more productive," Dib icy sneered, pulling the alien away from the transmission controls. There was a fitful struggle that began almost immediately, " C'mon, Zim! They're out! Deal with it! You can talk to them later!"

" No! You don't understand! My Tallest! They'll be worried sick if they don't hear from me on time!" he shouted, pulling and tugging on Dib's fingers to get him to release him. The human merely rolled his eyes at that, " Oh, would you just leggo, filthy human boy?! Your grip is too tight! And you're ruining my gloves!"

" Whatever," Dib mumbled as he released the older boy. Zim stumbled backwards a couple of bouncing steps, then he steadied himself. He marched along with Dib down the hall, although he had a pout on his face. Ignoring the expression, the younger pulled the wig over Zim's antennae much like a baseball cap. The other gave him a look, his gloved hands roughly adjusting the wig, " Stupid space boy,"

" Don't mess with me, worm," Zim hissed, pushing his hair out of his pink eyes. Dib was unfazed by the tone. Seemingly aware of this, the alien just sighed as he took the lead for the maze like trip out of the base. There was a brief silence in which the only sounds were their hollow footsteps on the cold metal below. Then Zim yawned a little, stretching out his arms, " Wanna go play with the weasels?"

" Sure,"

" I wonder where my Tallest are on such an important day like today. . ." Zim absentmindedly muttered as the two made their way from the communications control center to the experiment dock room where the weasels were kept. The only answer Dib could give him was a shrug, " I shall ask them when I call back later. I'm sure it's something important,"

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If anyone's interested, I have plenty of art about this fic on my deviantart. PM for details.


	2. Chapter 2

The Irken birthing facilities looked like nothing else in the entire Empire. A huge square building looking planet that had once been a free society, it held no windows, no lights, and only two exit docks. The first of which was the entrance for the rare visitor, the second being the exit for the smeets that were heading to the training center of their career choice. Ships continually left out of the second, small Voot Runners that could carry one adult Irken and five smeets. These ships arrived throughout the day and night, all with the Irken seal of approval smacked on the side. The only ship to arrive at the first gate in over ten years, however, bore the Imperial seal of the Almighty Tallest. The Runner hailed the facility, requesting permission to land, which was immediately granted. The rusting doors of the first gate creaked open to admit the Runner inside. The lights of this dock were hurriedly turned on, revealing a dusty and unused space that didn't even have attendants anymore. The Tallest emerged from their personal Runner without an audience, for which they were both immensely grateful of.

Although they had informed the Massive that they were heading out, they had failed to mention where it was they were going. As such, they didn't want anyone to know. This was a personal, social visit, not an inspection or evaluation. As there was to be no audience, there would be no recording of when it was they officially landed. This dock was rarely used. From the appearance of it, the recording systems usually installed in all Irken docks had been deactivated to conserve energy needed for the birthing facility itself. Without that or any Irkens themselves to record anything, the Tallest could arrive and disappear without anyone ever being able to find out where it was they'd vanished to. Due to the nature of this visit, they were glad of that seemingly unimportant detail. Thus why they had chosen to land at the first gate in the first place.

As the guards apparently scrambled to get down to the first dock, the Tallest helped each other out of the Runner in peace. Red was the first one down. He slipped out of the driver's seat and onto the musky floor. After stretching out his back, he floated over to the passenger side where the door was whizzing up and into the back of the Runner. He held up his hands and eased Purple from the Runner to the floor, even though the hover belts they wore would have easily done the job for him. Both on the ground, they grinned at one another in a private joke they would never share. Breaking the grin, though, was Red. His smile melted into a much more serious expression when he turned his head away. He surveyed the dismissal state of the docking area with slight annoyance.

" You'd think after everything, they would just keep this place tidy. Y'know, just in case," he sneered, idly waving his arm to the side to emphasis the scoop of the disrepair. Purple ignored the statement to look up at the impressively tall ceiling of the area, " Anyways. . . are you sure you want to do this, Purple?"

" I already told you, Red, yes,"

Despite being a strong statement, even Purple heard the shaky tone he used. He cleared his throat and attempted to say it differently. Unfortunately, his voice caught in his throat this time, rendering him embarrassed and unsure. Nervously, he moved his deeply purple orbs from that expectant face to stare at the ground. He couldn't bring himself to look at his dearest companion for much longer then a second these days. Rather, he continued to find something else to gather his attention. However, regardless of where he looked, he couldn't shake off the gaze of Red. He felt that heavy stare on his back then as he rubbed his neck and pointedly examined the light fixtures. Just as his name was whispered, though, there was a loud whizzing sound followed by hysterical calls.

Into the hanger rushed about twenty Irken guards and ten Irken facility monitors. Each one was holding a bag of some form of snack or a sugary drink, all of them screaming out 'my Tallest' at the loudest possible level. This monstrous crowd surrounded the two within seconds of the door opening. They didn't exactly push up against them, but they did get close enough that Red and Purple inched closer and closer until their shoulders were firmly pressed together. Their names were chanted amongst various questions about accommodations, evaluations, schedules, and the like. A couple guards attempted to shield them from the barrage of lesser Irken, but nothing could drown out the increasingly loud exclaims. Whereas Purple covered his ears and told them all to be quiet, Red waved his arms until the roar of the crowd died down to a weak mumble. Eventually, all sound evaporated to just the constant rustling of packages being offered to the Tallest as tribute.

" Yes, yes. . . we thank you for your attention and your snacks," Red began, only to be cut off by an enormous roar of the Irkens trying to smother their leaders with food. Purple drew ever closer to Red, swatting at any that came too close for his comfort. Waving his hands to gather silence, Red tried again, " We have not come to stay. We are here for one reason and one reason alone. We ask that you shut up and just. . . do what we ask,"

" Or else," Purple added on, if only for the effect it usually had on their subjects. His counterpart gave him a slow, bored look. He, however, didn't react. He just marveled at the array of confused or horrified expressions on the faces of the Irkens who had clearly heard the tales of their less then kind leaders.

" Yeah. . . or else. So. . . take us to the smeets!" Red announced, pointing off in the direction of the doors the crowd had come from. At once, there was a mad dash for the door as the guards tried to create a save path of travel and the monitors attempted to open the doors before anyone else could get the honor. While they tripped over one another, the Tallest hung back in mild amusement at the dramatic show of what the lesser Irkens considered to be loyalty. Once the doors were actually opened, the Tallest floated over, allowing the workers of this facility to lead the way.

The initial portion of the facility was devoted to numerous hallways that broke off in random directions. This portion was the monitoring section, where the monitors worked. As computers took care of fertilizing, housing, and birthing the smeets, it seemed almost redundant for there to be facility monitors of any kind. However, they weren't there to monitors the smeets. They were to run the shipments of smeets leaving the facility and monitor the surroundings. As the Irken Empire was invading and conquering planets left and right, it was only natural to assume that some resistence would eventually rise up. A particular target for sabotage would naturally be the birthing facility. The monitors checked up on any and all spacecrafts in the immediate area as well as made sure that all the shipments of smeets made it to the correct training center safely. The guards, of course, were there for protection of both the birthing facility and its workers. This first portion thus held all the controls and screens and charts that the monitors needed to accurately keep track of everything they were supposed to be monitoring.

Beyond the monitors' section, there were the housing units for all the newborn smeets that were awaiting their scheduled dates of departure. These smeets were given their primary lessons in Irken society via their Paks, as well as had their information logged into the Super Computer's database for registry purposes. After those numerous rooms there was the second exit where the smeets left this place and headed out into the Irken Empire. The second dock was vast and brightly lit, crowded with Irken and smeets much like a rush hour moment near Foodcourtia. Guards ushered smeets with the correct time cards onto the right ship to be herded to Militaria, Foodcourtia, Conventia, and numerous other training sites. The Tallest realized quite quickly that this was where they were being herded when they noticed all the group housing units passing by. They could make out the roar of the Voot Runners heading out into space over the increasing noise of guards shouting out the code numbers for ships heading out in the next shift. Hearing that, Purple stopped so suddenly that Red smacked into him. Their guides slowed to a stop as some smeet wailed that he had lost his time card.

" No, no, no! We don't want to see the new smeets! We want to see the unborn smeets!" Purple shouted to be heard over the sounds of the second dock. The guards and monitors all exchanged worried, bewildered looks for a lot longer then they probably should have. Purple gave them a dark glare, " Well? The unborn smeets? How 'bout it?"

" Right this way, my Tallest!" a voice in the crowd exclaimed before the entire group shifted direction back towards the monitors' portion of the birthing facility. Red let out an exhausted type of sigh, pushing his knuckles into his forehead. The two leaders were dragged/pushed the way they had come until they reached a hover platform at the base of the vast majority of the birthing facility.

This massive amount of space was used for the sole purpose of furthering their race at an obscene rate of production. To that end, the entire thing was a large square tower that rose up hundreds of feet and stretched out nearly just as wide. The whole space was empty except for several metal claws that took care of installing the Paks into the backs of the newborn smeets. Lining the walls, however, were countless glass tubes numbering in the millions. Each one had an Irken face on the end that would light up happy and green when the child inside was fully developed, ready to get on with their existence. Every couple of minutes, one or more of those tubes lit up, causing the claws to rise up to them and remove them from the rows. The tube was opened, a smeet would tumble out onto the ground, then they received an electric shock to start their mind, and a Pak was installed into their spines. As soon as the tube was disposed of, another one was shoved into the empty space to begin the incubation of the next Irken on the list. A couple guards stood idly by the doors the Tallest were lead through. These guards saluted before moving the new smeets to a housing unit to await further instruction. The entire process took approximately two and a half months to complete from the first moment of incubation to the moment the smeet arrived at their new training center. There was no way for the Tallest to know exactly how many smeets were born every day. Judging by the rate at which they were being removed, however, they could guess in was in the hundreds, if not thousands.

While Purple stared up at the unimaginable amount of Irken fetuses, Red shooed their entourage back to their stations both for the safety of the facility and for some much desired solitude. When they were alone, the Tallest stepped onto the hover platform. Up they went, past all the tubes with their blank or fresh green smilie faces. As soon as they were out of ear shot of everyone down below, Red turned back to his companion. Purple was looking at all the tubes they were passing. He pretended he didn't feel that heavy gaze on his back again. He couldn't pretend for long, though. Once the platform reached the top and began to circle all the tubes, Red repeated his earlier question.

" Are you sure you wanna do this? This could be the end of your career, y'know," Red informed him for what must of been the millionth time since that morning. There was a pause in which Purple didn't say anything. He just idly looked on at the tubes that were drifting by as though he could tell what kind of smeet lay within each one.

" It doesn't have to be," he finally answered, stopping the platform in front of one of the newly added tubes. Purple pulled a cord from his own Pak and plugged it into a port located on the inside of the smilie face's base. The information regarding the genetic makeup of the smeet in question appeared on a screen he pulled from the cord, " This one's gonna have orange eyes. I don't like orange,"

" Purple," Red said in a stern voice that forced the other to look at him. He placed a hand on Purple's wrist, observing the stress and uncertainty that had flooded the face of his fellow Tallest, " Before you find something you want, I need you to tell me that you're sure about this. This doesn't have to be the end of your career, but we both know it probably will be. Are you ready for this? We haven't been the Tallest for all that long. Do you wanna wait? At least until Impending Doom Two is over with?"

This time, the pause had more to do with thought rather then the desire to avoid the topic at hand. Purple closed his eyes slowly as he tried to gauge what he wanted. If he decided to follow Red's lead and walk away, he could make up some random excuse for wanting to see the unborn smeets. He could return to the Massive and ignore the questions as to where and why they had left. He could continue being one of the Almighty leaders of the great Irken race. He could lead his Empire to victory in Impending Doom Two. He could rule over the entire universe within a matter of years. He could stay the Tallest and become an all powerful dictator of the whole of the universe. As sweet as that sounded, however, there was an empty longing that had filled up his thoughts since the very end of Impending Doom One. There was a hole that had no method of being filled except in the way he was researching now. As much as he wanted to be the Tallest, there was something he wanted that much more.

Purple wanted a smeet.

He didn't want this smeet to be his heir as Tallest. He didn't want this smeet to be trained like the smeets who belonged to previous Tallests. That wasn't it. Purple desired this smeet for the sole reason of wanting to have a baby in which to raise as his very own. He couldn't say where this overwhelming need to raise a babe had come from. He just remembered waking up one morning and realizing that he wished he was awakening to the sound of some tiny Irken calling out 'Mother Pur'. There was an underlying factor, he knew. After years of struggling to get to the top, Purple had pushed away nearly everyone who had ever needed him, save for Red. Of course, Red didn't need him per se. He was incredibly independent. Unfortunately, Purple had always known that he was needy and desperate to care for people. He had longed to be Tallest partly for the ability to do his race proud. During those long years bringing the Irken Empire to the size and strength it was now, he had suppressed many of those protective and nurturing urges. Then, out of the blue, towards the end of Impending Doom One, Purple had gotten a rude awakening to his more maternal side.

An Irken Elite Invader had gotten pregnant.

Suddenly, Purple's world was turned upside down. He saw that poor child, barely older then a smeet, desperate and longing of answers. That child who begged his Tallest for a way out of the condemned fate of what he was had struck a cord within the Tallest. He heard those pleads and that maternal center that had previously ruled his life was alive. He desired a smeet of his own, something to focus that care and love on. He wanted a chance to hold a tiny Irken and raise it in his own likeness. He wanted to hear some smeet calling out his name, see a babe running around the Massive. That Invader had given birth in secret. The smeet had been a tiny girl with pink eyes, curly antennae, and her father's sense of direction. She had clung to her mother for the first few weeks of her life. Watching the two, Purple had found himself intensely jealous. Once the little girl had been handed over to the Irken military for training, her mother had somewhat disappeared from the charts. That Invader had gracefully bowed out of the limelight, leaving Purple alone and longing.

For years, he had harbored that desire of his. The images he wanted to see played out like a cruel joke when he tried to block out the urges lingering inside his head. He attempted to adopt young Irkens by taking them under his wing during training. The feeling that they were his, however, quickly faded each time. In time, he could barely focus on the mission at hand. His depression worsened until the night Red had confronted him about it. He had been noticing Purple's seemingly distant attitude for a while. He demanded to know what was wrong. Knowing that the jig was up, Purple had confessed his desires. He wanted a smeet of his very own, one to care for and raise as his babe.

As expected, Red had been stunned into silence. He, of course, had never even considered adopting a smeet for any reason, not even as an heir. When Purple explained his feelings, though, he saw that he was winning Red over to the idea. He pleaded and begged then, for permission to seek out an unborn smeet to become his child. At first, Red had been reluctant. He hadn't been keen to the idea of raising a smeet, no matter the noble reasoning behind it. Purple hadn't been gentle or subtle in his persistence. In due time, Red conceded. He agreed to this plan, although he warned Purple of the impending consequences to taking a smeet from the birthing facility and raising it as his own. They weren't entirely unforseen consequences.

After all, Irkens did not raise their own child. They hadn't in centuries. The birthing facility created new smeets and the training centers taught them everything about Irken society, including their career paths. To become a parental Irken meant all sorts of things in their race's society. The first and foremost didn't apply to Purple, so he wouldn't have to deal with the problematic fear that came from being able to conceive smeets naturally. However, he would have to face the ridicule of caring for a babe, which was often times considered a high sign of weakness. There was a possibility that his people would not serve under someone they saw as weak. This could easily be the end of his career as one of the Tallest. Aside from that, though, were the difficulties that faced any parental Irken. Their society did not cater to the needs of someone rearing children. He would have to program everything himself, perhaps even teach them. That or surrender his smeet to the training centers of Irk, which he wasn't sure he could ever bring himself to do. He would be literally giving up whatever life he had or could have in order to care for this smeet. He couldn't imagine what the ordeal would be like. There would be public shame, dishonorable discharge, and unfathomable difficulties. The question of whether he truly wanted to do this was an understandable and valid one. The answer, however, was one he already knew.

" I'm sure," Purple stated in a stern, sure voice with a firm nod of his head. He didn't want there to be a single doubt about his final decision. The risks were great, but they could never compare to that empty feeling that had been preoccupying his mind lately. Red looked at him briefly, then swallowed hard. He gave a nod of his own, accepting that this was the last time they would ever discuss this. They were going through with this, no matter the outcome later.

" Alright. . ." Red muttered, looking out at the various tubes while the platform circled the giant birthing facility. They came to a halting stop in front of one of the newly instated tubes with a fresh little smeet inside. He pointed at it with a half shrug, " What about that one? Looks good and. . . juicy?"

" Yeah. . . juicy. . ." he mumbled under his breath as he took out the same cord from before. He inserted it into the port behind the dim smilie face. Looking at the chart of information that piled onto his screen, Purple made a face. He pulled the cord out with a snapping pop, " No. Definitely not. This one's going to have short antennae. I hate short antennae. Makes their heads look deformed. You know. . . all. . . . whatever,"

" Yeah. Whatever," Red gave a knowing nod as he rolled his eyes in frustration. Purple ignored the look as he positioned the platform to go on to the next possible smeet. They dropped several levels before arriving at a tiny looking fetus. Purple stuck his cord in and checked all the information. Once again, he complained about the smeet's eye color; orange. Red felt his eyelids growing heavy as the platform moved on, " This is gonna be a long day, isn't it?"

* * *

Indeed, Red was correct in his assumption. The hours dragged on as the hover platform circled the birthing facility repeatedly. Every new smeet was rejected due to some unappealing physical trait ranging from eye color to antennae size to eye size to length of fingers. After that, the Tallest examined the other smeets that were practically new. Unfortunately, these ones came complete with a projection of height as well as head size and torso length. These were rejected faster then the first batch. The older the smeets, though, the quicker the rejection. The more information that was complied about the smeets, the less appealing them seemed to the choosy Purple. He refused to have any smeet slated for menial labor or food service. He didn't like the projected appearances of nearly eighty percent. He wasn't keen on the skill level on others. There was an issue with just about every single smeet in the facility. The only ones that escaped the scrunched up face and shake of head, in fact, were the ones that Purple deemed too old to be raised by him. Just like that, then, they were standing on the hover platform exactly where they had started. They were at the bottom of the tubes, slowly floating upwards, without a single chosen smeet to pick from.

Glaring to the side, Red rubbed his knuckles over his forehead in a vain attempt to soothe his growing headache. Beside him, Purple frowned deeply at the tubes that went by. Disappointment was beginning to make it's way over his dark eyes. That was the least of Red's worries, though. They had been gone for nearly an entire day already, and it appeared that they were no closer to reaching their goal then whence they had arrived. The frustration he was feeling was only the top of the iceberg of emotions swirling through his mind. When they arrived at the first tubes they had examined, Red reached out and placed a hand on Purple's shoulder with a grip that was ten times tighter then he meant for it to be. That gathered him the attention he wanted, though.

" Look. . . Purple. . . I understand that this is important. . . but if you want a smeet, you'll have to _pick_ one," Red sneered in a cold voice. The tone seemed to mean nothing to the other Irken, although the statement itself made Purple drop his head a fraction of an inch. He chewed on his cheek, searching for the words. Red didn't need an apology, so he didn't give him a chance to attempt one should he feel the need, " Just. . . find one that you like and we'll take it home,"

" I. . . but I don't like any of them. I really should like it. I want to like it. How can I like it if I already dislike it?" he whined in a pitiful voice. His counterpart rolled his eyes without bothering to hide the action. Purple pouted for a second, then let out a low sigh, " I don't know, Red. . ."

" Don't know? What? I thought you wanted to do this. Have you changed your mind already?" he questioned as the other Tallest shook his head idly. There was a slight pause that made Red turn to face Purple. He looked at that furrowed brow and those heavy eyes that appeared to be lost in thought. For a moment, he wasn't sure what was going on behind those purple orbs. The feeling was a rarity and not a welcomed one. Before he could repeat his questions, though, Purple raised up his eyes. He cast a longing glance at the tubes, then flicked his antennae weakly.

" Doesn't this feel. . . kinda. . . cold?" Purple whispered in a voice that didn't sound like him in the slightest. There was an edge to his feminine voice, a sort of biting cut that was nearly physical it was so viable. The look that crossed his face was next to disgust, his hand waving hesitantly as though dismissing the birthing facility in it's entirety. Nothing Red could say could ever express his shock at that sort of attitude to what most considered one of the greatest achievements of their race.

" Cold, Purple?"

" Yeah. . . like. . . wrong? With this whole. . . picking and choosing smeets? I mean. . . it's alright when it's for our empire. . . but. . . for an actual smeety babe? I. . . I don't like it," he restated, shaking his head roughly and quickly. Red felt his mouth dropping open at that, " I. . . don't want to. . . have a smeet like this,"

" Ooookay. . . well, if you don't like picking and choosing, then we'll just take the next tube to be put up without checking anything. How's that? Completely random," Red suggested, waving his hand in the direction of a tube whose face had just lit up bright green. The metal arm reached up and plucked it so the smeet could begin it's life. Within a couple minutes, there would be a new tube inserted into it's place. Yet, Purple shook his head again, his face becoming more and more stern.

" Too random. I don't want just any smeet. I want one destined for greatness. I want a smeet that looks like me, acts like me. . . one whose part of me," Purple explained, pushing a button on the controls so that the hover platform began to descend. His counterpart gave him a wild look, his reddish eyes widening as what was being said dawned on him. Purple gravely nodded, turning his back to the tubes full of smeets, " I want to father my own smeet,"

" But. . . Purple. . . no one's supposed to know. . ." Red hissed under his breath, moving in closer. He pressed his mouth to Purple's cheek so no one could overhear them. He doubted if there was anyone brave or bold enough to listen in on the Tallest, but he refused to take a chance with this topic, " We can't just. . . it's unforgivable. . . after everything he's been through. . . after what happened to him on Foodcourtia. . . that's asking too much, even of him. . . besides. . . he's undercover. . . we can't just blow that for him. . . think of all the others who would show up. . . he could be raped. . . who knows what else,"

" I understand. . . but, Red. . . think about it," Purple stopped the platform as he turned his mouth to his companion's cheek in a similar fashion. He was given a penetrating stare, " He's safe. . . everyone hates him. . . no one but us would ever know what he is. We sent him all the way out there to protect him. He owes us a favor. Please. . . I really want this, Red. . ."

There was a steady pause that filled the platform. Red looked at Purple, reading his every motion for the answer he ought to give. The other Tallest begged him with his entire body. The worst, though, were his eyes. Those darkly purple pools threatened to drown Red in their desperate desires. He saw how much this meant to him, how badly he longed to fulfill this goal of his. He saw that grief like longing and he knew he was going to give in. Honestly, he wasn't even sure why he attempted to stop him. He was no match for Purple's eyes. Like he always did, then, Red nodded and gave in. He rubbed his knuckles along his eyelids as the other clapped his hands and grinned that childishly pleased smile of a spoiled child having gotten a new present. Touching the controls, Red continued their descent to the base of the platform. He knew they were going to have to stock up on snacks before they left, so he hailed the guards as they headed back down. Purple was all smiles while Red was all worry as they landed.

" To Earth then. . . I just knew this was going to be a long day," Red mumbled as the platform touched the floor of the birthing facility.


	3. Chapter 3

Perhaps the single most guarded secret of the Irken Empire was the fact that Irkens could still reproduce naturally. As far as any other society was concerned, there was no Irken left that could conceive a smeet and bring it to term without artificial means. However, that wasn't entirely true. For the most part, it was. To further the species and erase any birth defects, Irken scientists had perfected a method of removing the genitalia of the species. Without the ability to reproduce, the birthing facility was left to produce the offspring of the society. As such, any gene pool issues were erased, leaving a stronger, smarter race within just decades of the initiation of the project. Yet, every now and then, an Irken would slip through the removal process while still a young fetus. This Irken would be born with the ability to conceive naturally, regardless of actual gender. As both genders had a cavity now, it was physically possible for a uterus to form in either of the sexes. When the removal process was left incomplete, an Irken would form that uterus as the cavity would technically indicate a female. Regardless of gender, then, the Irken would be born with the unheard of ability to conceive smeets naturally.

The majority of these Irkens never discovered that they were Conceivers. Despite the ability, most never actually had sex in the manner in which Irkens could become pregnant. The act of giving oral sex had long been considered a demeaning act. Thus, few self respecting Irkens would give their partner the satisfaction of dominating them to the point of having them get down on the floor to pleasure them and solely them. Every now and then, though, a Conceiver would manage the feat of receiving oral sex from a fertile partner. In these rare cases, the Conceiver would become pregnant by natural means. The consequences of this were often fatal.

As per the Irken cultural laws, a Conceiver was forbidden from refusing the advances of a willing partner wishing to sire a smeet. The law went back to ancient times when miscarriages, birth defects, and stillborns were especially common. During those days, a Conceiver was a female Irken who could bare healthy and intelligent smeets. Conceivers were a rarity then as well. To further the species at the time, then, the Tallest and Super Computer had created a law that enabled able bodied males to couple with females with ripe wombs. Back in the day, the law had served it's purpose and kept the species from falling into ruin due to rapidly mutating defects. When the Irken Empire had erased the ability to reproduce naturally, the Tallest had overlooked the seemingly useless law. The law thus remained on the books for generations to come, until it was so deeply ingrained into Irken society that even erasing the law wouldn't change it's effect on the population. As such, any Conceivers of the modern era were in grave danger.

Despite having rid the Empire of the ability to reproduce naturally, the scientists had failed to rid the society of the need to procreate. That lustful need was often fed in the way of brutal destruction or fitful bouts of sex with confidantes. When a Conceiver was revealed to the whole of Irken society, however, there were some that couldn't resist the urge to create their own offspring. To that end, most Conceivers were abducted and turned into virtual sex slaves for overzealous Irken who longed to have their own empire of smeets. Those that weren't were almost always raped anyways. Their wombs were treasured above anything. Considering that the law and their own culture stated that they couldn't refuse a request if it were made correctly, they had no choice but to accept the fate that befell them should they be outed. The majority of them perished in childbirth when their overwrought uteruses tore or their exhausted bodies merely gave out. Some had their bodies dissected so that their rare wombs could be removed and illegally implanted into another more willing partner. Some just went insane in captivity before they ended their own lives. Others died in the act of conceiving when their partner became too aggressive. Either way, the resulting end of all Conceivers were awful. Their fates were worse then death, banishment, or even prolonged torture.

In order to prevent this terrible thing from happening, Tallest of recent years had been secretly relocating Conceivers so that no one would ever know what they were. In some cases, the Conceivers were easy to uproot and move. If they worked in menial positions, they could be moved to an isolated location where they could birth their smeet and then be placed back into their original positions with a story of a special assignment. Another common excuse was a freak illness from fornicating with aliens. Although being a xenophile was frowned upon, it was a better label then a Conceiver. To escape that label, the pregnant Irken would feign illness and head out to a medical lab for treatment. Instead, they would be transported to a safe location where they could bare their smeet. Once 'cured', they returned to their positions and dealt with the ridicule of their sexual fetishes. However, when the Conceiver was of a higher station or more noticeable career, uprooting them often took clever and elaborate plans. Some required the Conceiver to resign from their position to take up a false interest in another planet. Others had the Irken force their commanders to fire them in order to be discharged from a tricky military career. Then there were those where the plan seemed almost unnecessary, as the consequences were almost too great to perceive as worthy of one Irken. They were put into motion, though, to guard the secret of the Empire as much as the Conceiver themselves.

Should an enemy race learn that Irkens could still reproduce naturally, Invaders would be raped and there was a chance the Irken bloodline could be infected all over again. As birth defects multiplied so quickly in their blood and genetic makeup, one defective birth could create a strain of illness that could be reproduced and entered into the entire birthing facility. That was the fear of the Empire. Thus, the Tallest went to extreme lengths to guard this secret. If the enemy thought they couldn't create a strain of illness that could survive in the Irken body, then they wouldn't try. The Conceivers that existed were then the Empire's greatest secret. Their identities were kept such a tight lipped secret that they weren't even admitted to the Super Computers. The plans that were created to protect them were kept in the heads of those participating; the Conceiver, the father, and the Tallest. No enemy would ever learn that the Irkens could still reproduce naturally, no matter what had to be done.

Such were the circumstances revolving around the only Conceiver the current Tallest Red and Purple had ever come across. This Conceiver was of one of the most imperial stations in their Empire. He was an Irken Invader. His story was familiar to the Tallest, both of whom had been warned by previous leaders of this situation. Not realizing that Irkens could still conceive naturally, Irken Elite Invader Zim had started fooling around with his partner at the time. The two had reportedly become intimate during one of their training exercises. Eventually, they had gotten to the point of giving and receiving oral sex. This was when Zim had learned that he was pregnant. He had immediately contacted his Tallest, begging them for assistance. Unfortunately, they were all faced with the difficult question of how to proceed from there. Zim was one of the leading operatives in the upcoming Impending Doom One Operation. The father of the smeet was another one. There was no easy explanation as to why Zim couldn't continue with his expectant leadership of the first strike on Blorch. Nothing could explain why he had to disappear for the length of a pregnancy, only to return healthy and happy and ready to proceed with the Operation. Not to mention that none of them knew whether Zim would be healthy and happy after the birth. Taking that all into account, the three of them had worked out one of the most elaborate schemes in Irken history. Had it not played out so flawlessly, it could have been looked back on as reckless abandonment of rational thought. As it stood, it did work out flawlessly.

Playing off his numerous complaints of excessive force, irrationality, basic insanity, and the like, Zim took to the controls of his massive Megadoomer and destroyed half his home planet in 'maniac hysteria'. The Tallest stood by and idly watched as he went about blowing up the majority of their hometown. By the end of it, Zim was one of the most hated Irken alive. He was also banished for his actions. The Tallest had no choice but to banish him. Of course, they had already decided where they were going to be sending him. They had arranged for him to go to Foodcourtia to an old pal of theirs, Frylord Sizz-Lorr, to serve as a cashier. There, Zim could pass his pregnancy off as weight gain from the various snacks. Once the smeet was born, he could live out life on the snack planet in quiet solitude. He would have to give up his military career, but he would save himself from the fate of the Conceiver. Although disappointed, he had readily accepted the solution to his problem. He was thus banished out to Foodcourtia, where Sizz-Lorr was waiting for his new recruit. Zim's bulging middle had fit right in with all the other heavyweights of the planet, no matter how large he became in the passing weeks. Once he bore his daughter, he had nursed her and sent her out to the military training center to live out the dreams he had given up.

Everything had gone off without a hitch. They would have stayed that way had a certain someone not gone back on their end of the bargain. To that end, someone had turned rogue. The next thing the Tallest knew, they were in the middle of the assigning of the Invaders of Impending Doom Two when Zim showed up out of nowhere. Whereas he put on a great show of having just crashed the party, he had a desperate plead for his leaders. They put on the role of mocking and uncaring rulers, before they took him to the side to hear this plight. Zim had confessed a horror story of his time on Foodcourtia. Having been discovered, he had been forced into Conceiver enslavement. He had escaped with only his life, having had to leave everything else on Foodcourtia, including his new children. He had pleaded with his Tallest to hide him, to save him from his tormentor. They gave him what he wished. They gave him a false mission on a planet far off in the distance. Whereas they intended him to just land on some random planet and establish himself a new life, Zim intended to use the excuse to return to his old life before any of this had ever happened. The three had never reached an agreement on which was the best course of action. As it was, Zim was safe and his secret was still that, a secret.

To keep it that way, the Tallest traveled to Earth without alerting the Massive as to where they were heading. Invader Zim was the only Conceiver they knew of. Any others that might have existed during their era were still the secret of the previous Tallest. For Purple to fulfill his desire, he needed to father his own smeet. Out to Earth they went. Their imperial Voot Runner traveled faster then any cruisers. They would arrive within the same day as soon as they put on the hyper drive and headed through some of the Irken guarded wormholes. Red steered, as he had some talent with mechanics and piloting. Purple sat idly in the passenger seat, chewing on a lollipop that was the same color as their lightly green skin. Not once did they signal to the gatekeepers of the wormholes to clear the way for the royal ship. They refused to give away their location in the off chance one of the gatekeepers would actually record it. As Earth was so far away from all the other planets in the Irken Empire, one recording of their current location would indicate where it was they were going. Therefore, they dealt with the traffic and sped through the twists and turns until they had arrived in the general area of that foreign planet.

Normally, the first time the Tallest visited the planet one of their Invaders was stationed on, it was with the Armada and was strictly business oriented. The Invader usually had about a week to prepare a tribute to their great leaders and ready their base for the upcoming meeting. Often times, it was a grand celebration that ended with the annihilation of some race's society. This time, they didn't even bother to send out a transmission to Zim informing him they were in the immediate area. Rather, they approached the small blue planet hesitantly. Red sent out a locating signal to identify the Irken's base. Upon picking up one, he descended onto the planet, heading straight for the base. Within moments, they had arrived at a strange looking structure they took to be the humans' take on a home. Using the universal control their Tallest equipment gave them, they opened up the hatch to Zim's hanger and set their Runner down next to his Cruiser. The hatch walls closed in over their heads as Red slipped out of the Runner. He absentmindedly helped Purple to the ground as the doors to the hanger whizzed open.

Unlike at the birthing facility, their surprise visit to Earth was not met with acclaim. Instead, a proton laser gun was aimed directly at their faces, the Invader in question taking a professional stance. A second gun was pointed at their Runner by the Dib human in which they had been introduced to, although his stance was strange to them. A moment passed where all four of them stared at one another in shock. The human scratched his head then, his gun lowering weakly. Purple hovered slightly behind Red, pushing him forward to take control of the situation. Then, Zim dropped his gun in what could only be described as horror.

" My Tallest! What're you doing here?! _Here?! _In MY base?!" he demanded in a tone that would've gotten any other Irken banished to a land of eternal suffering. With Zim, though, it was to be expected. The Tallest thus just waved off his exclaim as Red moved forward with just the slightest uncertainty. Before he could say anything, however, Zim's face lit up and he saluted them at long last, " I knew you wouldn't miss my presentation! I _told_ you, Dib! Too busy for ZIM! Nonsense!"

" Presentation? What _are_ you talking about?" Red asked in a low voice that could barely be heard over the wild laughter of the Invader. Zim's voice cut suddenly, his antennae standing at attention. The smile that crossed Dib's face was nearly as arrogant as the voice Zim usually used, " We didn't come to see any presentation. We have transmissions for that,"

" Yes, well, you missed _my_ presentation today. It's a good one too! I even have the Dib here," Zim grabbed the human's arm and gave him a shake that nearly whacked his head into the wall, " He's gonna give us a first hand look at how these nasty little worm babies reproduce! Isn't that cool? I worked really hard and-"

" First hand look, Zim?" Dib cut him off, jerking his arm from the alien's grip. Purple and Red exchanged a long stare where they appeared to be reassessing just as to why they were even standing there, " I'm not here to be your experiment _or_ your presentation. I came over to play video games because you weren't at school today. Just what were you gonna have me do? Stand naked in front of your leaders?"

" Well, actually-"

" _No_,"

" We're NOT here for that stupid presentation!" Red called over the impending argument of the two. He waved his arms in a broad scoop, which never failed to quiet down subjects. Zim stopped talking long enough for Dib to sneer out something that was apparently a swear word on his planet. The Invader immediately smacked the human in the face, his pink eyes narrowed dangerously. Almost before Red could raise his arms to silence them again, the two were screaming various swears as they grabbed each other. They collapsed to the floor in a fit of words ranging from 'faggot' to 'bitch' to 'motherfucker'. Watching the childish display made Purple snicker. All it did for Red was increase the throbbing of his headache. He cast a dark glare at his counterpart, " I do hope you know just what you're doing, Purple,"

" Let them fight, Red. . . I wanna see who wins," Purple cooed, floating over to get a better look at the two as they slammed the other into the floor or wall. From the looks of it, Zim was winning. He continually backhanded Dib until the human spat out a mouthful of red sticky blood.

" Alright, enough," Red interjected, losing patience waiting for one of them to finish the fight once and for all. Zim's hand stopped an inch from Dib's cheek, his head turning in the direction of his leaders, " Get off him, Zim. You've proven yourself or whatever. Right now, we need to talk to you,"

" About my presentation?"

" _No_," Red snapped as Purple motioned for Dib to punch Zim behind the other Tallest's back. As Dib pulled back his fist, though, Zim climbed off of him and stood before the other two. He saluted them once more, smiling at the compliment he had managed to get. Behind him, the human stumbled to his feet, dusting off his pants and torn shirt. Neither appeared to be concerned with the damage they had inflicted or received.

Having successfully separated the two, Red steered Zim away from his human companion and over to the Runner for some privacy. Purple followed them, glancing back repeatedly to make sure that they were far enough away from Dib that he wouldn't hear them. When they deemed the distance great enough, both the Tallest leered down at the Invader. The action was meant to coerce agreement to whatever they intended to request. Unfortunately, in order to appear normal, Zim had in recent years adjusted his height. He was now nearly the same height at his leaders. The effect of the leer was lost when he could just tilt his head up a couple of inches and smile up at them as he did at that moment. Sighing, then, Red rubbed his knuckles into his forehead, allowing Purple to take the reigns. Purple was reluctant to do so. Only after receiving a nudge from his counterpart, in fact, did he clear his throat and attempt to explain what it was they wanted from him. Picking a place to start proved the most difficult. After that, everything seemed to just fall into order.

Deciding to start with Zim's previous pregnancy, Purple carefully explained what it was he wanted from the Invader. He navigated from his previous interest and jealousy of the Invader's pregnancy and smeet to his current desire to have his own babe without interruption. He made brief mention of his search at the birthing facility, then came to the point at hand. There, he stumbled for a moment over the words he wanted to say. At first, the Tallest wasn't sure if Zim would understand exactly what he was saying. Then he wasn't sure if he ought to ask at all, considering everything that had happened after that soldier had last saluted them at Foodcourtia. Choking down that fear, however, Purple managed to make the request. He asked if he could father a smeet by Zim's womb. The look he received was curious confusion, to which he rephrased the question with some difficulty on his part.

" Can. . . we. . . make a smeet. . . together?" Purple eventually forced himself to say to Zim, of all Irken. He saw Red actually flinch at the wording. To be honest, he wasn't keen to use it. Yet, he wanted to make sure he was perfectly clear on the matter. The last thing he needed was for Zim to get the wrong idea or steer them off topic.

The pause that followed the request was heavy and pulsing with tension. The air around them grew thicker, more physical, the longer that Zim stared up at his Tallest. His antennae slicked back as though he were offended after a moment. His lips puckered while one eye narrowed until his signature stare was expressed. Still, he said nothing, neither yay or nay. Purple felt his throat drying up, his dark eyes sharing a stolen glance with Red. Zim rocked back and forth on his heels. Finally, he gave a weak, feeble shrug as his eyes looked to the ground uncertainly. The Tallest eagerly waited for his answer, Purple feeling as though a great weight was pressing down onto his back the longer this took. At long last, then, Zim nodded his head in a small motion up and down. A sigh was exhaled from both the Tallest, that weight seemingly disappearing as if it had never been there.

" I suppose so. . ." Zim mumbled under his breath, shrugging once more. Purple didn't seem to notice the tone he used. He just clapped his hands as his mind filled up with images of what his potential smeet would look like. Red, on the other hand, gave the warrior a look that reflected his suspicious nature.

" Why aren't you more excited about this, Zim? Usually, you freak out every time we try to talk to you. Aren't you honored that you will be giving your Tallest a smeet and doing your sacred duty as a Conceiver?" he demanded, hands on his hips. The leer he used had little intimation, but it was the only one he had, so he pulled it on anyways. His question drew Purple's attention back to the forlorn expression gracing the younger's face. Zim gave a half hearted nod, shuffling his feet.

" Zim is excited. . . it's just. . ." he pushed his index fingers together, rubbing them in a small circle, as he peaked up at them. Both the Tallest exchanged a look as the Invader kicked the ground, " I've never. . . accepted such a pitiful request, is all. . . I usually require a much more elaborate show of gratitude before submitting to the will of another. . . but, you're the Almighty Tallest, so, the great Zim will. . . do as you ask,"

" What?! You think that was. . . no! No!" Purple spat out, pointing off in a random direction in his horror at being thought of in such a demeaning manner. Red scoffed at the very idea, " I would never commit such treason! That wasn't my formal request, Zim! It wasn't the formal one!"

" You really are an idiot, Zim," Red sneered, rubbing his knuckles over his forehead. Purple continued to sputter about the audacity he was suspected of committing. Zim's antennae perked up as his curious eyes watched the outrage in which his Tallest stumbled through. Eventually, then, he smiled that bright, insanely happy smile as a glow overtook his pink orbs.

" Oh, well then, of course, Zim would be delighted to assist you, my Tallest!" he cheerfully declared, smacking his hands together as though that sealed the deal. Purple stopped short in his rant when he heard that. He sighed out, the reality of what he was about to do settling in over him. Zim, however, seemed to have already realized it, for he jabbed his finger into the air as he spun around on his heel, " To my quarters! Let's go make some _looove!"_

" Make some. . .Oh no! We're not making _anything!_ " Purple exclaimed in a semi horrified voice. There was a small pause in which what he said ran through his head, " Okay, so we're making smeets, but that's _it!!_ No love!"

" Whatever you say, my Tallest," Zim cooed out coyly, grinning up at his leader. Purple didn't try to hide the gag when it came, although he did start to follow the smaller Irken from the Runner to the doorway where Dib continued to stand. The human exchanged a meaningful stare with the Invader, to which the human let out an exhausted sigh.

" Lemme guess? Alien things?" Dib sarcastically asked with a dramatic roll of his eyes. The eye roll was so impressive that Purple had to physically stop himself from asking the inferior creature how he managed it. Zim, though, nodded and smirked at the human. His response was another eye roll as the boy moved to the side to allow the two aliens passage.

The doors then whizzed open to admit the two of them. In silence broken only by the sounds of Zim's boots on metal, they left the hanger. They headed towards the Invader's personal quarters in order to move ahead with the Tallest's scheme. Left in the hanger, then, were Dib and Red. The two of them idly stood there, somewhat surprised at the abrupt exiting of their only companions in this particular base. A moment passed in which they merely stood in their places, watching as the doors shut and the other two vanished from sight. Then Dib licked his lips, casting a glance at the leader of his only friend's entire species. He pointed towards the door, giving half a shrug.

" Wanna go play with the weasels? We can launch them into space or something," he suggested in a bored sort of voice. Red looked at him in what could be described as shock, though what the shock alluded to, he wasn't even sure. Glancing around at the empty space of the hanger and the lack of snacks in the Runner, however, Red shrugged back.

" Sure. Why not?" he said, if only because there really wasn't anything else to say or do. Dib gave him a weak smile, then steered him out of the hanger. Down they descended into the Irken's base, to which end, they were promptly lost. While Dib walked them around in circles, Red could only cover his face and moan, " I just _knew_ this was going to be a long day. . ."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N- I don't normally do this, but I thought, for the sake of the chapter, I'd tell you what songs I wrote this to. This was written to 'Miracle' by Vertical Horizon, 'Belief' by Gavin Degraw, and 'Dancing' by Elisa. These songs really set the mood for this chapter. I hope you listen to one of these songs while reading this, so you can understand the atmosphere I intended. I think it'll help with the mood. But, that's just me.

* * *

The entire Irken Empire was based on three separate law systems. There were the universal laws set in place by the Super Computer. These laws stated what was illegal, what was legal, and what the punishments were should anything illegal be preformed. There were the imperial laws established by the Tallest. These laws stated what was right, what was wrong, and how these rules were enforced throughout the reign of the current leaders. Then there were the cultural laws originally stated as either universal or imperial laws that became ingrained in society until they were law themselves. These laws stated what was treasonous, what was improper, and how the society should behave. Together, the three law sets maintained the whole of the Empire under strict regulations that had served them well. The universal laws kept the society in order, the imperial laws kept it under control, and the cultural laws kept it conformed.

Whereas the universal and imperial laws came with brutal punishments written in stone, the cultural did not. Instead, the society itself would enact the punishment for a breech of etiquette of the highest order. The form usually taken for such a punishment was public humiliation and isolation. The offending Irken would be deemed an unworthy, inferior creature. Often times, they were banished by disgusted Tallest simply unable to tolerate that sort of disrespect. Other times, they were run out of the Empire by the enraged citizens. Either way, they were guilty of treason. Whatever position they held would be taken from them. Their rank, career, and popularity would immediately diminish to nothing. As such, Irkens upheld the cultural laws with great care. To be labeled a treasoner was a death sentence. It was also a label that could never be taken back, regardless of future amends or service.

Probably the quickest way to be labeled a treasoner was to offend a Conceiver. In ancient times, the Conceiver was a rarity that was a necessity to the survival of the race. Their abilities to birth healthy smeets made them of an almost regal status. To lay with one, to sire an untainted smeet, was considered one of the most imperial privileges offered to a fertile male. In order to show their gratitude, the males were required by cultural law to request the Conceiver lay with them and bare them a smeet. The request was supposed to be formal, elegant, and passionate in order to incite the Conceiver into the bedroom to perform her sacred duty. As a Conceiver could not deny a formal request, it was of the utmost importance to ensure that not every request had to be accepted. Thus, the request had to be up to the standards established by the cultural laws. If it was, she would bare the male a perfect smeet. If it was not, she would close her doors to him. The male would be deemed a treasoner. In the ancient times, that treasonous male would be banished from Irk for daring to offend one of the rare Conceivers their society had managed to produce.

In more modern times, the laws concerning the Conceiver had become cultural, regardless of the fact that the majority of the population was unaware there were still such a thing as Conceivers. Whenever a male was to impregnate a Conceiver, he had to request permission to do so. To do otherwise was treasonous in the most offensive of ways, especially considering what usually happened to the Conceivers later in life.

Knowing this, Purple thought long and hard about the formal request the whole time Zim lead him from the hanger to his personal quarters. The whole base was a winding maze of purple and red metal hallways that branched off into various sections and sectors. Down they went, continuously boarding lifts to descend from one level to the next. For a time, the Tallest considered the possibility that they were lost. After a couple seconds of entertaining the idea, though, Zim brought them to a sealed off doorway with a lock in the shape of the Irken three fingered hand. Tugging off his glove with his teeth, the Invader pressed his palm to the lock. There was a light glow of green before the doors clanked open in steady degrees, most likely due to various locks and timers. Having known Zim was incredibly paranoid, Purple didn't dwell too much on the obviously excessive security. Rather, he just stepped inside the room as Zim locked the door using a similar fashion. Purple didn't even hear the door shut, his shock at the quarters was so great.

For years, Purple had envisioned any Invader's personal quarters as a mini military base. He had only visited one previous Invader's bedroom, that of Invader Skoodge. The only reason he had even seen it was because the Tallest had arrived at Blorch to congratulate him on completing his mission and had surprised him in his personal quarters on accident. Skoodge's room had maps and detailed plans attached to the walls, the entire floor littered with failed experiments and equipment. The bed had been coated in tossed away disguises and snack wrappers. The whole place had looked like an after thought to someone preoccupied with war. Such was how Purple expected every Invader's room to appear. If he had to say so, though, Zim's personal quarters were the exact opposite of that image.

The whole place formed a half circle with three doors, one on right, one on the left, and the one behind the Tallest. Near the door on the right was a plush arm chair with matching footrest. There were books stacked up on either side of the chair, in various languages that appeared to be human in nature. A small desk was situated close to the chair. Binders and paperwork graced the desk, weighted down by Irken fashioned paperweights in the form of weaponry. A tiny lamp was sitting near the papers. To the door on the left, there was a small night stand with a bowl on it. What was held in the bowl, Purple couldn't make out. The only other thing in that area was a telecommunications screen that was currently turned off. A small clock was embedded in the wall under the screen. Aside from the various sitting arrangements and the screen, the only thing in the room was the bed. It was shaped to fit the room, curved in a half circle so that it was snug against the wall. Pink sheets graced the massive spread, which was big enough to fit at least seven full grown Irkens on it. A mountain of purple, pink, and red pillows lined the top of the bed, leaning against the dark metal headboard. The Irken seal was pressed into the headboard, although it was halfway hidden by the pillows. This entire set up was bathed in dim purple lights that immediately set the mood in a more intimate manner.

There was a long pause as the Tallest glanced at every thing in slow motion, then repeated the actions to make sure he was seeing correctly. When he was about to ask about the accommodations, however, Zim sauntered past him. He gracefully sat on the edge of the bed, then pulled his slender form back until he was seated in the middle of the sheets. His antennae bounced as he moved, his eyes merely half open as he gazed at his bedroom. Whatever was going through his mind remained a mystery. There was hesitation there, but it was quickly replaced by a set face of indifference. He licked his lips momentarily, his head raising up to look at his leader. Zim didn't say anything. He didn't have to. The heavy stare that he rested upon his Tallest's shoulders was all that was needed. He waited for the request, waited in that solemn elegance Purple couldn't imagine Zim ever possessing.

Perhaps it was the room that brought the words to his lips. Perhaps it was the dark shadows that rested on that Invader's young face. Perhaps it was the simple fact that he knew what he needed to say all along. Either way, the words came in beautiful succession without the slightest effort. Purple knelt before the bed, lowering himself until he was nearly a head shorter then the other. His hands rested on the edge of the bed, gripping into the sheets as an uncomfortable feeling of unworthiness descended on his shoulders. He saw those curves under that imperial uniform and suddenly he knew what he was asking. This creature may have been a vexing Invader without the true skill for his level of expertise. Right then and there, though, Zim was the sacred Conceiver with one of the rarest abilities of the entire race of Irken. He was the essence of ancient beauty, something far greater then a lowly Tallest. He was deserving of so much more then Purple could ever give him. Yet, Purple tried. He knew it would never be enough for what he was asking, but he gave it everything he had within him that made him a good leader and an even better Irken.

" Zim, I humble myself before you and ask that you hear my request with gentle ears and kind heart. I open myself up to you for judgment that I am not worthy of receiving," he began in a slow whisper that just barely fell into the tense and hot air, " I come to you, kneel before you, and ask that you surrender your form to give me the ultimate pleasure of a smeet to call my own. I ask that you give up your serenity to lay with me to create a life within that which I do not possess. I ask you to come to me, to allow me entrance to you, so that I may sire a babe by you. I beg you to be favorable in your answer, but ask no hurry. I will kneel before you as long as it may please you,"

The air filled with quiet anticipation. The pulsing tension whittled away to the steady beating of Purple's heart, the rush of his breath as it came out in choked puffs. Before him, Zim sat in the same position, his legs tucked up under his body, his antennae attentive to all the noise in the world. His deeply pink eyes never left his Tallest's face throughout the entire request. That noble appearance was surreal in a way. The entire feel to this was mildly surreal, from the coloring on the dark walls to the look in that Invader's face to the submissive kneeling of the Tallest. For all that, though, there was that underlying fear that was beginning to crawl through the air and up Purple's back. He knew what this Conceiver had been through, what he had run a million miles into the void of space to hide from. He knew the scars that lingered in the depths of the Irken's memories. That taint stained this request in ways Purple could only imagine. Still, he remained on his knees, listening and watching for even the slightest indication of approval.

Finally, it came. Invader Zim closed his eyes slowly as if blocking out something painful and unwanted. Then he lowered his body onto the sheets and the pillows at the headboard. He splayed his hands on the bed, his legs bent idly so that his knees were just faintly touching. His eyes remained closed the entire time he assumed the submissive position on his very own bed. He submitted his body to Purple in the most physical of ways, leaving himself open entirely to whatever would come next. There was a stiffness to his back, a low exhale of breath, yet he poised himself in that way as his answer. He need not say anything once his body was resting in that fashion.

The moment he had settled himself, Purple rose to his feet with the aid of his hover belt. Eyeing that delicate body, he pulled off his armor and his skirts. He rid himself of any and all clothing until he was standing there in nothing. Despite the appearance he took in the armor, Purple did not exactly have the same form without it on. He stood taller then all other Irken, but was actually about six inches shorter without the stretching equipment of his middle belts. Although thinner then the majority of his race, he now had a more standard appearance once he was not wearing physically altering clothing. Now in his most comfortable attire, Purple slipped onto the silky sheets of the Invader's bed. He ran his fingers over the plush sheets before he felt the semi rough fabric of the uniform the other was dressed in. Zim's eyes slightly opened, a tiny smile playing on his tender lips, but he did not move an inch. For everything that he'd been through, he still gave himself to Purple as though he was not shaking like that, as though he was not terrified as he had to be.

The Tallest moved slower then he ever had in his life. He could taste the fear that was dripping off one of the most unshakable Invaders he had ever known. Purple could only imagine what must of been going through Zim's mind. The last time someone had touched him there, here, he had been on the ground in a fast food joint's kitchen, crying and sobbing as someone much bigger then himself forced themselves on him. He had been grabbed and held down as his body was ravished without his permission, without his approval until he was tossed to the ground and told to get back to work. The last time someone had rubbed their fingers over the hemline of his uniform, they had raped him. They had slammed his tiny body onto the floor and raped him for what he was. They had destroyed whatever innocence he might of had. They had ruined him. The last time, Zim had been a slave to a master he didn't want. This time, he lay under his Tallest, shaking with the fear of the memories that showed in every pant, every flinch. Purple went slowly. He saw the flinches, the involuntary movements of someone scarred for life, and he went slowly.

His hands moved from the sheets to Zim's hips carefully. He eased his palms over those curved and succulent body parts until he could feel the roundness of his ass. He felt along the sides of his waistline. The Invader was small, petite, but formed of practically nothing but muscle. His entire body was well formed, tight from various exercises. There was still a bit of weight at his lower waist from his previous pregnancies, of course. Other then that, though, his lines were firm and toned, unlike the majority of those that Purple slept with on a daily basis. He smiled fondly at the change as he smoothed his hands up to Zim's shoulders. He rubbed his knuckles over the Invader's neck, then down to his hands. There, he felt one glove and one hand. The contrast was an unexpected, yet welcomed surprise. Feeling his way back to Zim's hips, he pressed harder until he heard the weakest of moans from the boy underneath. Grinning at that, he moved his fingertips up until they touched the bare skin of the other's stomach.

Unlike the fabric, Zim's skin was as smooth as silk, if not smoother. Purple moved his hands under the shirt until he could feel the heat trapped between the skin and the shirt. That fire seemed to leak into the air, for it washed over the Tallest in a pounding wave. His body grew tighter the harder he pressed his hands to that flesh. There was a still whisper over his head as he saw Zim move his lips. Whatever was said went unheard as the shirt was pushed up to reveal that belly. There was the smallest of bulges from previous pregnancies. For the most part, however, Zim was perfectly slender with subtle curves to his light green skin. The way the light caught on his flesh rendered the Tallest speechless. He saw that body shift, saw those hands twisting up the sheets, but he could say nothing of it. Where that attraction came from, he would never know. He just swallowed it up and allowed it to control the motions of his hands from there on out. He touched the Invader gently, kindly, as he lowered his mouth over the quivering skin below. His lips pushed onto the soft skin without hesitation.

A gasp drowned out all other thought the moment Purple made contact with Zim. The sound in the entire room vanished, only to be replaced with the moans and pants of two lovers meeting each other for the first time. The Tallest kissed the Invader passionately, drinking down the liquid fire that ran off that body. He heard his title, his name, and then only the quiet sobs that would linger in his mind for much longer then he ever thought could be possible. His heart pounded in his chest as he eased those tight black pants down past the knees of the creature below him. His stomach rubbed against those pants, the boots that hit Zim at mid thigh, and the sensations were rough and cold compared to the warmth of that beautiful body. Removing the pants then, he tugged them from the boots that he allowed the Invader to keep on. Those were tossed to the floor, leaving the Invader bared before his Tallest.

The slit between his legs was scarred. Purple saw the marks of teeth down there, where they had broken through the sensitive skin and bled this Conceiver. An illness of untold proportions made the Tallest shake in a cold chill. Moving his hands lower, he rested them on those curved hips. Carefully, he slung those booted feet over his shoulders. The weight was surprisingly pleasant. Zim let out a soft, muffled sound as his head turned into the pillows. His hands gripped the sheets harder as Purple's breath fell over his most private of locations. The Tallest moved hesitantly down, adjusting those plump legs until the position was right. Tension, anticipation, hit the air in the form of hurried and frightened pants from above, wet and thick ones from below. Fire bathed the room in slick sweeps in the moment it took for Purple to open his mouth above the slit.

Slowly, he inserted his tongue into Zim. He heard a muffled cry that was softened by the pillow the Invader was burying his face into. His back arched slightly in reaction to the penetration. Running his tongue over the smooth and wet walls of that cavity made the other start to pant harder. A signal choked sob was the only remembrance of the former abuse this creature had experienced. Still, Purple eased into the motions so as not to injure that dignity any further. He moved his tongue deeper into the wet cavity with lingering licks to the fiery wetness that surrounded it. Zim jolted when that slick tool reached the surface that served as his shaft. His eyes squeezed shut then as Purple began to breathe into him, began to ran his tongue up and over that pulsing surface. The salvia in his mouth grew thicker as he felt liquid dripping down his own thighs. The building heat poured over him as he tasted that prime center with it's beautifully quivering owner.

A moan melted into the air. Whose mouth it came from was unknown. All the Tallest knew was that slit, that center, that taste. He felt that rise and fall of the Invader's entire body with his own. Every gasp trickled over Purple's body like a needle that jolted his spine. Every convulsion rocked him down to his curled toes. Every sharp intake of withheld breathe made his head swim. He ran his tongue over that sensitive area with the care of a conditioned lover. The pressure was gentle, but firm, against the surface there. Brought to life were the sounds that escaped Zim's mouth, jumping into the air and staying there. Liquid swirled over Purple's tongue as he felt his salvia running down his tongue and into that entrance. He began to twirl and curl his tongue, combining the two fluids in a rush of motion. Every flicker made Zim cry out, his back arching as his heels connected with a hollow sound. His fingers dug into the sheets, his hips twisting in Purple's hands. A painfully low groan rose up from the depths of the Invader's throat when the Tallest ran his tongue over that surface slower, harder, then ever.

That was all that was needed in the end. Zim let out a small scream that cut halfway through, tears running down his flushed cheeks. His body gave a convulsion that made his legs tightened around Purple's head. His nails broke through the sheets as his chest struggled to find air. Within, there was a rush of pressure as the walls contracted. The slit grew intensely warm as sticky liquid ran down Purple's chin to his collar bone in thick streams. The heat was almost overwhelming in the way that it pounded over his head. Still, his tongue continued to flick over that surface as the Invader bucked with the orgasm. When his body finally quieted, exhausted and weak, Purple drew away in slow motion. His hands lowered the Invader's quivering lower half to the sheets that were stained in that clear liquid. A smile crossed his lips then as he gazed at the shaking form of that beautiful Conceiver.

Invader Zim lay below his Tallest, quivering from head to toe. His body was blanketed in a silent heat, his inner thighs coated in the liquids of their union. His boots pressed into the sheets as he drunkenly turned his head. A flush had overtaken his usually collected face, leaving him looking younger then ever. He moved his hands from the tattered sheets and rested them on his bare stomach. His muttered something that was probably intimate or proper, but the sound was almost inaudible. All Purple did was nod his head as he moved his fingertips lightly over the tender flesh of those thighs. Zim gave him a small, nearly delirious smile. Purple didn't know what the smile was for. He didn't ask either. He merely bowed his head until his lips were just above the light curve to that stomach. He titled his antennae backwards as he splayed his hands in front of that slit.

" I thank you for favoring my request, Zim. You are a most gracious Conceiver, especially given your past. I hope this conception and expectant state finds you well throughout. May you have the grace to sleep well tonight," Purple whispered, his breath rolling over the skin of the Invader. He saw brief movement before he continued, " If it pleases you so, I kindly ask to stay with you during the beginning hours of our smeet's existence within your body. I hope you favor this request in the selfless manner you have my previous,"

" I do," Zim mumbled without any hesitation this time. His voice was slurred from exhaustion and pleasure, running his sarcastic accent together. He raised his hands from his belly to his Tallest's cheeks. The touch was nervous and unsure, " You may stay with Zim until morning,"

" I thank you,"

With that, Purple moved his body until his cheek was resting on the upper half of Zim's stomach. He wrapped his long arms around that plump little waist, assuming the position of the protective male. Zim, on the other hand, just relaxed his body as his hands lightly rested on the Tallest's shoulders. Whereas Zim drifted off into slumber quite quickly for being drained as he was, Purple remained awake. He laid there, clutching that warm body, and just let his thoughts wander. He had not lain awake atop a partner in a long while. As he was the Tallest, it was considered in bad taste to show intimate interest in another Irken without returning the affection in the form of monies or titles. Since he didn't like handing out either, he rarely displayed that sort of lasting attention towards any one mate. However, seeing how this particular one was a Conceiver, he knew it was his obligation to stay. At the very least, he was required to ask if he could.

Cultural law stated that it was the Conceiver's right to gather that lasting affection from their latest mate. As Irken society did not place high value on monogamous relationships, the greatest showing of love was remaining with a coupling partner after the act was completed. The longer the duration, the more serious the relationship. Since the Conceiver was granting their mate the ability to sire a smeet, they were entitled to more affection then would normally be deemed necessary in other circumstances. To that end, given his rank, Purple would have been able to just dress and leave after coupling with an Invader, even one of Elite status. However, Zim was a Conceiver, so he was privy to more attention then normal. He had the right to require Purple to stay with him. Not to ask could be considered treasonous, as it was disrespectful to the Conceiver, especially in light of what they had just done. Thus, he had asked. Thus, he stayed there, hugging that body as he was supposed to. For what Zim was giving up and doing for him, though, he was thankful that he had gotten permission to do as he liked. Regardless of who was the mother or how difficult this might end up being, he was going to father a smeet.

Purple was going to be a father. He smiled at the thought as the room faded in the darkness of the upcoming night. The shadows of the Invader's bedroom stretched themselves as the Tallest felt his eyes closing. Warmth bathed the room from their heated union, trickling over his naked form. Below him, Zim slept soundly with the smeet beginning to grow within his womb. He, then, found himself falling into darkness as well. All to the comforting thought that, yes, he, Tallest Purple, was going to be a father.


	5. Chapter 5

Morning came in the form of something crashing into the locked doors of Zim's personal quarters. Whereas Purple sat up in alarm, Zim just rolled over and idly muttered something along the lines of 'shut up Gir'. Another clanking sound echoed in the chamber, rattling the Tallest. Suddenly, the excessive security didn't seem to be enough. He tried to wake the Invader, but found it incredibly difficult. He wasn't sure as to why, since Invaders were supposed to have hair trigger like personalities, yet it took him several attempts. Eventually, he just snapped for Zim to wake up as loudly as he could. Antennae jumping up at the noise, the younger Irken sat up drunkenly. He looked about the room, eyed the door suspiciously, then just yawned and stretched out his tiny frame. Rolling his eyes, Purple slipped off the plush mattress. The floor was cold on his bare feet. The sensation wasn't entirely welcomed after having spent the entire night bathed in intoxicating heat. Quickly, then, he began to dress. While he pulled on his skirts and armor, Zim weakly stepped onto the floor.

Walking to the door to the left, he picked up a small circular thing from the bowl there. He stuck it in his mouth as he slid open the door and disappeared inside the dark area. Purple saw a light flicker on and off from below the door, seeing Zim walking around. Curiously, he floated over to the bowl once he was fully dressed. He tilted the bowl towards him to examine it's contents. All he saw were tiny circles of a bright yellow color. Not sure if they were medicine or food, he didn't take any. Instead, he floated over to the right side of the room. He flipped open one of the books. The words written there, however, were utterly foreign. He couldn't make out anything except the Irken word 'stupid', which was scribbled in the corner with an arrow pointing to one of the paragraphs. Seeing nothing of interest there, Purple just slid open the right hand door.

Behind it was a small, circular room whose entire floor and every wall was covered in bright pink metal with intricate detail work. For a moment, the Tallest failed to notice anything else, he was so caught off guard by the traditional elegance of the metal work. Slowly though, he realized that he was looking into a cleansing area. There was a deep basin of green solution common of Irken's who enjoyed spending a ridiculous amount of monies on a bath. This tub was set into the ground with a small ladder to one side. Near the edge of it was a curved bench with a circular back to it. The bench was made of metal, but there was an enormous amount of pillows thrown on it and the floor, as though whoever sat there didn't like to be uncomfortable. Around the wall near that basin was a handrail for clothing that also sported two plush purple towels with the initial 'Z' stitched into their corners. The entire set up appeared to be made for two, however, as if Zim intended to share this experience with someone else. That more then anything made Purple stare for a lot longer then he ought to have. Hearing the other door opening, though, he shut this one and turned back to the left to see the Invader shutting the door behind his back.

Zim had changed from his soiled uniform. Rather then having put on another one, however, he was dressed in a silky looking black robe. The thing was a little snug, a little short, but he lovingly stroked it's sides as though it had some memories to it. There were two pockets at his hips that he stuck his hands into. Stitched into the left breast was a curvy 'D' that made Purple narrow his eyes. Not sure whether he should address it, he refrained from mentioning it. He just watched as the Invader walked over to him. He noticed vaguely that Zim was still wearing his boots.

" Good morning, my Tallest. Did you sleep well with the Almighty ZIM!" he asked in a sing song like voice, bouncing on his heels. Purple gave him a bored look, if only because he didn't want to admit that he had, in fact, slept well with the younger. The look was answer enough, apparently, for Zim. He grinned widely up at the other, " You're welcome back anytime to my quarters, my Tallest. You need not worry about being turned away,"

" I should think _not_. I am the Tallest," Purple sneered out, but only to save a little bit of face. His tone went unnoticed for that smile only grew wider. Sighing then, the Tallest covered his face with one hand. Glancing around, he gave half a shrug, " Thanks, Zim, for everything. . ."

" It was my pleasure, Sir,"

" Yeah, yeah, I'm so sure," he waved off the comment dismissively. Looking about the room again, Purple sighed out dejectedly. He couldn't fight his curiosity any longer, so he gave in and pointed in the direction of the left door, " What's with this room, Zim? Pretty pillows, a basin for two, and a bunch of books in foreign languages? And just what is in that bowl? And is that whole space your closet? What gives?"

" Enh? What?" Zim mumbled, turning his pink eyes towards the room that surrounded them. He looked around at the elegance that seemed so misplaced in the unorganized base, in his world at all, and seemed to find nothing wrong with it. Turning back slowly, he maintained a bewildered look that caused his antennae to sink down a few inches. Shuffling his feet, he rubbed his index fingers together absentmindedly, " You think it's too much, maybe, Sir?"

" Too much? It doesn't even _seem_ like your bedroom," he exclaimed, waving his arms in a wide scoop towards the bedroom. The Invader looked at his room, squinting his eyes as if that would help him see what it was his Tallest was talking about. Losing patience with this creature, Purple merely rolled his eyes, " I was expecting a mismatching military base with junk everywhere and like. . . holes in the walls and ceiling from experiments. This room looks like it belongs to. . . I dunno. . . someone. . . less crazy then you,"

" Hahaha. . . that's what _everyone_ says when they see my quarters for the first time," Zim informed him in what sounded like a proud voice. He waved his hand to the side as he gave that important style laugh of his. Purple gave him a look that was a mixture of annoyance and interest. He wasn't sure which he felt stronger, so he just displayed both. The Invader didn't see the look, for he was already placing his hand on the lock to the door.

" You mean I'm not the only Irken to see your room? People actually _visit_ you out here?" Purple questioned, crossing his arms over his chest. The door clanked open slowly as all the locks clicked open. Zim allowed the Tallest to leave the room first, which he did. Back outside in the twisting maze of a base, Zim locked his bedroom door.

" No. You're the first to visit me, my Tallest. Only the Dib has seen my personal quarters. I meant back when I was in training. Whenever someone saw my quarters, they thought they were in the wrong room. ZIM could never figure out as to why, though," he answered with a shrug as he began to march down the hallway the way they had come. Purple followed him, looking around in shock at all the random dents that were embedded in the walls. As per usual, Zim failed to notice them, " The Dib says I'm a neaty freak or something. I am _not_. Zim just likes things to look a certain way. I always wanted a nice be-"

" The Dib has been to your personal quarters?" Purple interjected with supreme interest. A slow smile was beginning to inch over his face at the very thought of Zim being a xenophile. Before he could really entertain the idea, though, Zim made a face with one eye closed and one opened fully. There was definitely nothing romantically interesting to this story. To that end, Purple completely zoned out, not hearing a single word that came next, for he found himself wondering just where Red was and what he had been up to all night.

" Yes, Dib has been to my quarters. He _insisted_ on it, saying that if ZIM got to see his bedroom, then he got to see ZIM's. I did not approve, of course, but sometimes listening to his wretched whining is enough to make me crazy. So, I gave in and let him into my quarters. You would not believe the silly things he wanted to do there, my Tallest. He said something about a snuggle or whatever it is the humans call it when they get naked and make love. Sometimes he just drives me crazy. CRAZY! I mean, we're not even going out anymore, and still he begs for ZIM. He's a real nut, that one," Zim rambled off, losing himself to the rant he had launched into. Seeing Purple staring off into space, though, he cleared his throat and cast his Tallest his signature look, " My Tallest?"

" Huh? Oh, yeah, good for you, Zim. Or. . . whatever," he mumbled absentmindedly, not even bothering to look at the Invader. They approached a lift that Zim stepped into, holding open the door for his Tallest, " Where do you think Red got to last night, anyways?"

" Oh, I'm sure the Dib took good care of him,"

* * *

Bright lights poured over the kitchen/bathroom from the windows in the front of the makeshift house. Dib slowly sat up at the kitchen table, prying his face off of it with a little difficulty. His glasses were laying on the table, along with everything that had been in his pockets. Yawning into the back of his hand, he pulled his glasses on. He started to gather everything up and shove it back into his jeans. He heard snoring coming from the living room, which reminded him that he was supposed to be keeping an eye on Tallest Red. Stretching out the kinks in his back, the human stumbled out of the kitchen and leaned in the doorway to see just what the leader of the Irken race was doing at nine in the morning.

The Tallest was sprawled out on the couch, sound asleep. He was dressed in only his skirt, for comfort sake. All his armor was laying scattered on the floor of the living room, having been pealed off at random when Red had decided to turn in. He had one slender arm over his eyes to block out the light, the other hanging loosely off the couch so his knuckles were just barely grazing the floor. In case Gir had come home and left the door open or something, Zim's wig was currently on Red's head so he appeared at least slightly human. He slept on as Dib rolled his eyes. He glanced one more time at the Tallest, then turned around when he heard the pantry lift coming up. A couple of seconds later, it whizzed open. Invader Zim and Tallest Purple stepped out into the kitchen, both of them looking a bit disheveled. The human eyed the black robe the Invader was dressed in.

" What the hell, Zim? You ditched me last night. Why do you do that?" Dib demanded, walking over to where his companion was opening the fridge. Zim gave him a flustered look that was borderline angry. Behind them, Purple drifted through the kitchen in search of his own companion. Upon finding him, there was loud exclaim of 'Red', followed by a soft thud.

" Why do you care, Dib?" the alien snapped back, opening a container of ice cream. He started to scoop out some as the other tapped his fingers on the counter. Rolling his eyes then, Dib smacked the bowl of ice cream onto the floor. It clattered there loudly. Slowly, Zim blinked, his grip tightening on the handle of the scoop.

" Why do I care? Because I spent the whole night wandering around your base before I ended up here. I had to sleep at the kitchen table. My back hurts, my neck hurts, and I missed dinner, so I'm hungry," he sneered back, taking the ice cream container from the Invader. Zim gave him a dark look, raising up the scoop like a weapon, " What did you do last night anyways?"

" That really is none of your business, filthy human," Zim answered in a haughty voice as he took back the container. Ignoring Dib's protests, he snatched up two spoons and walked out of the kitchen. Of course, the human followed closely at his heels. As such, the two made their way over to where the Tallest were sitting on the couch. The wig was now on the armrest, both of them idly talking without any disguises on. Glancing at Zim, also without one, Dib said a small prayer then no one happened to walk in right then.

Sitting on the other armrest, the Invader offered the snack to his Tallest. Whereas Purple took it energetically, Red got to his feet in a hurry. His footsteps made small thumps on the ground as he walked over to Zim. He took the Invader by the arm and steered him from the armrest to the plush cushion. There, he settled the smaller Irken in, even fluffing one of the pillows for him. Noticing the show of concern, Purple stopped stuffing his face with the sweet stuff. He handed the half empty container to Zim with one of the spoons with a happy, eager smile. Although reluctant, Zim took the ice cream and began to eat it. The Tallest watched him, grinning at each other as if this was some sort of grand ritual. When Purple reached out and rested a hand idly on the Invader's stomach, Dib had seen enough. He walked from where he had been standing in the middle of the room to the couch, giving the three aliens a strange look. All three of them stared back at him, Zim chewing on the spoon.

" Alright. What gives?" Dib asked on Zim, pointing an accusing finger at him. The look he got in return made his blood boil. Knowing that he was being left out of something important, he grabbed Zim's wrist and jerked him from the couch. The very second he did, however, his hand was ripped off of the Invader's wrist and he was thrown to the floor with enough force that his head smacked into the ground with a hollow bang. Moaning, he stared up at where Red had his hands on his hips, a furious look on his face, " What'd I do?"

" What the hell do you think you're doing?" Red barked in return, pushing Zim behind him with a protective nature that didn't seem to fit in with the usual dynamics of these particular aliens. From where he was laying, Dib could see Purple pulling Zim down onto the couch and hugging him with one hand at his head and one at his stomach, " I asked you a question, human,"

" Uh. . . I was gonna go talk to Zim in the kitchen. . . what the _fuck_ is going on? Zim?" he pleaded for some assistance, crawling a bit backwards on the floor. The Invader looked between the two groups, clearly not sure which he wanted to do more; save Dib or watch him perish, " ZIM!"

" Oh, alright," Zim muttered halfheartedly as he eased off the couch. Purple made a face, his hands lingering on the younger's waist before they fell to his sides. The Invader slipped in front of Red and held out his arms without much enthusiasm to what he was doing, " Please. . . don't hurt him, my Tallest. The Dib means me no harm. His pitiful race just cannot tell right away my condition. He won't know until I tell him. Please, have mercy on the pathetic little worm,"

" Gee, thanks, Zim. . ." Dib hissed under his breath while he hesitantly got to his feet. Regardless of the tone, though, the Tallest appeared to be backing off. Shooting the human one last dark glare, Red slowly moved backwards until he was standing beside Purple. The two exchanged a meaningful stare as Zim lowered his arms and cast an arrogant smile over his shoulder, " What condition?"

" If you're sure you'll be safe here. . ." Red began, again shooting that same look in Dib's direction. The human shivered on reaction, if only because this was the leader of a hostile alien race glaring at him. Zim, on the other hand, nodded confidently, folding his arms behind his back, " Then Purple and I must be bidding farewell. We've been gone from the Massive long enough. . . don't need them sending out a search party or anything. . . so, keep up the good work, Invader, and take care of yourself and. . . y'know,"

" I know, my Tallest,"

" Thank you for heeding my request," Purple stated in a firm voice as he got to his feet. Smiling as if to himself, he reached out one last time and placed his hand on Zim's belly. Both Irken got looks of sheer joy on their faces, although it was apparently not for the same reason as the joy was loving on Purple's part but mischievous on Zim's. Still, they smiled towards one another before Red had finished pulling on his armor, " I hope everything goes well. I'd like to get reports on how everything's developing,"

" Uh. . . about that. . . Zim," Red cut in, pushing his counterpart to the side. The Invader looked up at the serious expression on his leader's face with that same smile on his lips, " Don't contact the Massive anymore. We'll send you transmissions when the coast is clear. We don't want anyone to know what's going on. So. . . no more presentations or whatever it is you do when you talk,"

" Oh! That reminds me! You still haven't seen ZIM's presentation on how human's reproduce! Since you're here, why don't I just go get my charts and we can do it now?" Zim exclaimed, grabbing hold of Dib's wrist as tightly as he ever had. The human gave him a dirty look, but didn't get a chance to say anything. Before he could, Red let out a sigh as he rubbed his knuckles into his forehead.

" No, that's okay. . . we really need to be-"

" Oh, it won't take but an hour! I just know you'll love it, my Tallest!" Zim hurried to say, pushing Dib forward with a violent shove. Purple snickered behind his hand as Dib tumbled onto the ground with a moan, " Quick, Dib-human! Strip down while I go get the charts and diagrams!"

" ZIM!" Red shouted, going to grab the Invader's arm as he went to go to the pantry lift. His hand stopped about three inches from actually making contact, however. Instead, he just waved his hand in front of Zim, stopping him just as effectively. Dib arched an eyebrow at the display as he pried himself off of the floor to Purple's dismay, " We really don't have time for this right now. We'll do the presentation later. Right now, we have to get back to the Massive. . . so, if you could just take us to the hanger. . ."

" Right this way, my Tallest!" Zim saluted them as he said it. Without any other prompting, he marched out of the living room and over to the pantry lift. Although the squeeze was tight, the three aliens got into the lift. The doors then whizzed shut and left Dib standing in the living room with a vastly annoyed look on his face.

Sighing loudly, he took a couple of steps and dropped down onto the couch. The door was just a few feet away. Dib knew he could just go grab his backpack and head home and be done with this whole frustrating start to his weekend. He could probably be halfway home by the time Zim was done bidding farewell to his two leaders. He could just leave and go home to sit in front of his computer and look at dirty pictures for the rest of Saturday and Sunday. Yet, despite the annoying start Friday had given him, he stayed where he was. He had walked all that way from school in order to spend some mindless hours screwing around with modified weasels and spying on some alien Invaders. He wasn't leaving until he managed to kill a few more brain cells inside that pink and green place. After the day he'd had on Friday, he really thought Zim owed it to him.

After all, the entire day had been shot because of Zim in the first place. The morning had been painful, as Gaz had been in a terrible mood from the blackout that had ruined her victorious reign of terror on zombies in some game. Just when things had been starting to look up, though, he had gotten a message from his alien companion. Due to extensive research and whatnot, Zim was decidedly not going to be attending school. As this was his tenth absence in the semester, it was Dib's obligation to make up some sob story as to why his friend couldn't make it so he wouldn't be expelled. Dib had spent the entire walk to school perfecting a wonderful tale of how Zim had been in a car crash the night before. At school, although the teachers bought it with tears, a certain someone had not. That person had been the vexing Keef.

For the past couple of years, Keef had returned to being a headache in both Dib and Zim's worlds. He had vanished for some time as his parents had locked him in a mental institution because of his obsession with a squirrel. Eventually, he had emerged 'cured'. That was loose term for it. Rather, he was no longer obsessed with the animal in question. Instead, he reverted back to being obsessed with Zim. Most of his stalker like tendencies had faded with the years, as he got too old to be standing outside of the alien's house for long periods of time. To replace them, Keef had begun stalking Zim throughout school. He not only followed him from class to class, but he tried to talk to him, sit with him, share his locker, share his food, and get back to being friends with him. In response, Zim usually punched his lights out and went about his day in blissful Irken ignorance. Unable to reach Zim, Keef had turned on Dib. He tried to pry information about Zim from his only friend, which was the most tiring part of Dib's entire day. He usually just shook him off by ducking around Gaz, who liked to kick Keef between the legs as his sucker punched face was perfect.

Friday had been no exception. Dib had been assaulted by Keef's constant questions. Unlike the majority of the world, Keef was well aware that Zim didn't know how to drive a car. He didn't even own a car. Zim was one of the few kids at school who religiously walked where ever it was he needed to go. Dib had attempted to say that Zim had gotten hit by a car, but Keef wouldn't hear of it. Despite the alien's assertion against it, Keef knew that the Invader was an alien. Dib didn't know how he'd found out, but there was no denying it. Keef knew Zim wasn't human. As such, he had spent the entire day asking what Zim was really up to. Dib had literally been about to climb up a wall when he had finally been able to ditch the cretin once the bell rang. He had managed to get to Zim's base without a hitch. They had settled into messing with the weasels, goofing off like children by launching them into space and the like.

Just when Dib had thought his day was turning around for sure, the Tallest had arrived. Not only had he gotten his ass kicked in front of two intergalactic dictators, but he had been abandoned with one of them. He had intended to mess around with Red, as he knew the Tallest enjoyed a good game. Then they had gotten awfully lost in Zim's base. They had spent countless hours wandering around the hallways and into experimental labs without any clue as to where they were going. The closest they got to a familiar location was when they stumbled into the transmission room. Dib had attempted to navigate his way back to a lift of some kind, listening to Red mumble how he hoped Purple appreciated what he was doing for him. In due time, they had managed to find a lift. Not knowing what else to do, Dib had punched in the highest floor. They had been let out in the main floor of the base. Although they killed some time as Dib explained the purpose of the house so it seemed like Zim knew exactly what he was doing, they had then been at a lost as to what to do then. Seeing how night had already set, Dib had suggested just turning in for the night. Red had been all for the idea. Seeing the wig on the table, Dib had offered it to Red as a disguise; the wig had been previously left on the table when Dib had gotten snacks during the weasel games with Zim. With the couch being given to Red, Dib had settled in for a stressful night of slumber at the kitchen table.

Now he was sitting on that couch in idle boredom, having spent the entire morning being shoved around by a bunch of aliens. He tapped his fingers on his arms, waiting for Zim. He knew he could leave and salvage this partly wasted weekend, but he didn't. He just sat there, yawning into the back of his hand every now and then. A long while passed in which nothing happened. He didn't hear the hatch to the hanger open and he didn't hear the lift coming back down. Sensing that he could be there a while, Dib stretched out on the couch. His aching back thanked him the moment he was laying on that immensely comfortable thing. He yawned again, rubbing his eyes under his glasses. Around him, the room started to fade out. He felt his mind falling into the depths of sleep just as a faint whizzing sound echoed out. He mumbled something as he heard footsteps coming his way. He couldn't help it, though. Dib fell asleep just as his name was spoken in that cold Irken voice.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N- Please go take my new poll! Vote for your favorite couple to get a Winter/Christimas inspired M-rated oneshot! Vote for up to three couples! Poll will be up until Dec 1, 2009. Thank you!!

* * *

The smack crashed down into the right side of Dib's face with enough pressure to knock him from the edge of the couch to the floor. He let out a loud scream before he collided with the surprisingly solid ground below. A low moan trickled out of his mouth, his eyes slightly opening. Out of the corner of his eye, he made out two slick black leather boots without heels. Scuff marks littered the toes, leading up to the calves of a certain alien wearing a black bathrobe. Looking up from the ground, Dib saw Zim standing over him with his bare hands on his full hips. The expression on his face was bored annoyance, his antennae tilted forward with the mildest of interests. He tapped one boot, the sound echoed in the quiet of the front room, and then he crouched down. His knees nearly touched the human's shoulder as Dib eased himself up onto his elbows. The Irken poked him in the forehead then.

" What the hell are you doing, Dib-human?" he asked in a sarcastic tone that made his lips curl up into a smile that just dripped with arrogance. Dib gave him a cold stare in return, rubbing the side of his face that had been hit. Sneering at him, Zim stood back up and stepped over him. He dropped down onto the couch, crossed his feet at his ankles, and proceeded to rest his feet on Dib's thigh, " While you're down there, make yourself useful and give Zim a foot rub,"

" Do it yourself, you jerk," he snapped, shoving those boots to the ground. He roughly jerked himself off the floor, giving his best glare to the older boy. Zim merely yawned into the back of his hand, " Well? What the fuck is going on around here? The Tallest being protective of you? Disappearing with one of them all night long? A condition? Are you three plotting to blow up the Earth?"

" Well, yes, but that's not what we were doing," Zim responded, stretching his arms over his head. His pink eyes blinked slowly, another yawn being blocked by his hand. If Dib had to say so, he thought the Invader looked ready for a long nap, which only made him that much more suspicious.

" Okay. . . so what _were_ you doing?"

" I'm telling you, it really is none of your business. Figure it out for yourself. You're welcomed to try, but your pitiful little mind will never be able to discover the genius that is ZIM!!" he announced in a vaguely soft tone, jabbing his finger at Dib's flustered face. Yawning one more time, he waved his hand dismissively at the human, " Now, if you'd kindly shut up, I'm tired. I'm just gonna take a little nap. . . don't go down into the base, Dibbie. . . I think Gir is up to something stupid,"

Leaving their conversation at that, Zim folded his arms over the armrest before laying his head on them. His legs curled up underneath his body as his antennae dropped until they were almost flat against his head. Gritting his teeth, Dib gave the sleeping alien the finger, although he was well aware that his companion could not see him. He really wanted to throw something at that peaceful face, but he didn't. That was mostly due to the fact that there really was nothing he could throw. Everything in the room was bolted to the ground or much too large for him to attempt to throw. Dib could thus only glare as his napping spot was stolen by the Invader. He stood there for a moment, glaring, until he just sighed out and went to head back to the kitchen to attempt to get some much needed rest. One step later, however, his head swung back to Zim, a fiery red blush overtaking his normally calm face.

As Zim had adjusted his legs, the bathrobe he was dressed in had pulled up. From the position Dib was in, he could make out the faint outline of what appeared to be Irken panties. He saw a ruffle of lace, the dipping effect of low cut something, and thin straps that hugged those hips. Glancing quickly at that face to assure himself that Zim was asleep, Dib crept back over to the couch. Cautiously, he leaned forward, trying to make out the panties. Zim did not stir in the slightest. Taking that as a good omen, Dib crouched down in front of the couch, resting his hands on the plush green cushions for balance. Tilting his head, then, he peaked up that bathrobe to the private area of his longtime otherworldly friend. His breath caught in his throat the second he saw exactly what he was looking at.

Hugging Zim's slit were a pair of silky looking black panties with a thin, almost unnoticeable fringe of lace, held in place by little bows tied at his hips.

" Whoa. . . Zim wears lace," Dib breathed out, squinting at that gorgeously formed piece of Irken anatomy. He saw the way those briefs molded over that lightly damp area with a growing heated ambition. Swallowing dryly, he moved his hand closer to that impossibly warm body. He turned his hand over so that his palm was facing up as he inched towards that area tucked between those plump legs. Fire danced over his hand as he hesitated directly below that inciting location. His heart pounded into his throat, his eyes widening behind his foggy glasses. A tremor shook his body from gasping mouth to curled toes.

Dib smoothed his middle finger over those soft panties where Zim's slit was pressed against the fabric. Humid heat flooded his senses from that brief contact, drowning him like a tidal wave. Every other thought vanished in the pulsing ecstasy that coursed through his veins from that one simple touch. His shaft hardened behind his jeans, his chest fighting for air that refused to travel down his open mouth. The slightest of sounds escaped his tight throat, falling into the air heavily. His body shook violently, rendering him lifeless. An ember induced coma overtook every other sensation that attempted to enter his senses. He felt frozen in toxic shock that started at that burning spot at the end of one finger.

A booted leg smashed into the side of Dib's head with the strength of a train that never even attempted to brake. His head swung to the side before colliding with the floor, his body cracking into the ground in the next second. Blood splattered into the air as he tasted bitter metal. Liquid heat gushed down his front from his mouth and nose, his hands jumping up to his face. His jaw felt broken, his mind dislodged, his skull fractured. He barely had enough time to register what had happened before that boot connected with the other side of his head. Dib was thrown into a spiral, his head and shoulders cracking into the floor as more pulsing pain and blood poured from his mouth. Choking and coughing, he withered on the ground as he saw that boot being pulled back. He let out a hysterical scream the moment before that practically steel toed leather thing slammed into his side. There was a cracking sound as his lifeless body crashed into the far wall, both side and head colliding with the metal wall. Laying there, spitting up blood, vision spinning, mind racing, Dib heard Irken breaking over his fractured body. Then he saw those boots heading for him in angry strides as his name was shrieked. Grabbing his head, he wildly swung his leg into the air. He didn't strike anything. All he felt was a sharp jolt of agony as something connected with his knee. Crying out, he jerked to face Zim, a fist pulled back to lay a nice slug to that green face.

The punch never made it to Zim's face. The second Dib turned around, he felt his body freezing over as time slowed down if only for that one moment of perverted glory. The bathrobe was on the floor and Zim was in a ready to strike position. The human could see those lovely little panties as clear as day, including the way that they hugged that round ass and that delicious little slit. Those metal spider legs jerked out of that pak, their tips pushing together to form a blue ball of powerful energy. Dib barely registered it was there. He just stumbled forward, nearly knocking into the furious looking alien. His hands jumped forward to steady himself. They pushed into those hips, caressing the flesh there, as a smile overtook his red face. He felt the bows that tied those panties to his counterpart under his fingers. He could only imagine what his face must have looked like the second before that green fist was pulled back.

The next thing Dib knew, his back had connected with the wall as pain exploded in his face. He roughly slid down onto the ground, his head throbbing with fresh agony. He moaned out, touching his face and temples. There were welts in both places and he was almost certain that his nose was broken. From the searing pain in his chest, he figured one of his ribs was fractured at the very least. Spitting out another mouthful of red blood, he saw a small white object in the puddle. Groaning, Dib picked up another tooth. Just as Zim was about to let him have it again, he held up the tooth. That foot stopped, leaving the alien in an awkward position as the bathrobe shifted from the hasty job he had done pulling it back on after that second groping session.

" Aw, c'mon, Zim! My dad's already been on my case about all the bruises and concussions! But another tooth! You promised you'd stop knocking those out!" Dib snapped in a bit of a thick voice for the swelling that was beginning to puff out his cheeks. In return, he received a sheepish grin as Zim rubbed his index fingers together in a small circle, " Man. . . Z. . . look, I know what I did was wrong. . . but you really didn't hafta. . ."

" I apologize, Dibbie. . . I know you humans cannot grow back your teeth. . ." Zim mumbled under his breath as though the idea of actually apologizing left a bad taste in his mouth. Clearing his throat then, he pointed down at Dib, his pink eyes narrowing and flashing with that tremendously wicked touch he was renown for, " But you're right. You were in the wrong and you got what you fucking deserved. You know better then to touch the Almighty ZIM without explicit permission! I had every right to knock your useless airhead into next week! How does it feel, human, to get your ass kicked by an alien half your size!! Well, get used to it, bitch!"

Maniac laughter broke out over Dib's head as Zim pointed wildly at his face, completely lost in his own world of self deluded grandeur. Casting him a strange look, the human pried himself out of the wall. Blood dripped from his face to the floor in thick streams, even though he had his hand pressed firmly over his nose. The Irken proceeded to do a victory dance, twisting his hips from side to side with his arms held over his head. His laughter cut through Dib like a knife, if only as a reminder that he had been beaten by this particular alien twice in less then twenty four hours. Considering that Zim was usually on the losing end of their arguments, it was a blow to his ego for sure. Still, Dib could only glare. Should he retaliate, he could risk another humiliating beat down and end up with a score of zero to three. As Zim stood two for two, he wasn't sure he wanted to chance those odds. Rather, he just started to fish through his pockets for something to stop the bleeding. All he found were his keys, a ten dollar bill, and the bubblegum pink condom. He turned the condom over in his hands, then just stuck it in his pocket again. The money, however, he folded in half length wise. Waving it at the dancing alien, he cocked a smirk of sorts.

" You take off that robe and I'll give you ten monies," Dib cooed out, winking playfully. Zim's hips swiveled in his direction, his antennae perking up at the sound of cash. He continued to do his victory dance as he weighed the options. As per usual, his innate greed won out. The robe's ties were grabbed by those green hands as Dib licked his lips, " Do it slowly, Z. . ."

" You want slow, bitch, you give me more then ten," Zim answered as he shook his bottom in the human's direction. Automatically, Dib searched through his pockets all over again. Again, he found only his key and the condom. Shrugging, he held up the objects weakly, " Monies are all ZIM accepts. Try again,"

Gritting his teeth, Dib shoved the junk into his back pocket. His head jerked from side to side, searching for anything he might be able to tempt the alien with. Zim continued to dance, swaying from side to side with a sick smile on his pretty face. He fingered the ends of his robe, his boots sliding effortlessly over the tiled floor of his living room. Out of the corner of his eye, the human spotted his tossed away school bag. He dove for it, ducking around that pretty body as the alien twisted around the room like a temptress. Hands beginning to shake, Dib ripped open the compartments to the bag. He found notes, homework, books, pencils, a discarded candy wrapper with an Irken symbol, and a couple quarters at the bottom of the bag. He tore open every single section of the bag until he found what he was looking for. In the very back was his black and silver wallet, which he never kept on him due to school pickpockets like Zim and Zita. Fishing through all the receipts from Krazy Taco, Bloaty's, and Video Outhouse, he stumbled upon a crumpled up twenty with the word 'stolen' written on the top. Knowing full well what the money was for, he creased it down the middle and turned back to where his counterpart was dancing in a small circle with those hips moving around and around.

Running his tongue over his lips, Dib took a seat on the couch and kicked his bag to the side. He held up the thirty dollars and motioned with both hands for Zim to come closer. Looking at the cash, the Irken grinned slowly and seductively. He started to make his way over, moving his full bottom from side to side with an arrogantly gorgeous swing. His middle twisted, his arms held over his head, as his boots made soft thuds on the hard floor. He ran one finger down from his throat to his stomach, opening that robe just enough for the human to glimpse that flawless green skin. Zim bounced over to him, his eyes glowing with primal lust and his tongue running over his sharp teeth hungrily. He tugged on the edge of his robe, shaking his hips as he slid close enough for Dib to reach out and touch him. The human felt his grin growing wider as he flashed the money up at that greedy little vixen.

" It'll do," Zim coyly breathed out, snatching the money from the younger boy. He ran his tongue over the cash as he playfully twisted it around and around with both hands. His body swayed from side to side as Dib started to groove in his seat. That robe was flipped up as the alien stuck the folded up dollars in his panties, running his fingers along the edge of his hemline as he did. Then his hands smoothed up the insides of his full thighs until he was holding the ties to that black silk thing with the 'D' on the chest.

Moving in time to the soft sounds his boots made on the floor, Zim slowly untied the robe. The silk eased off his shoulders, his lips puckering at the sudden cold. The fabric moved down his arms, revealing his chest and the top of his stomach. Dib felt his heart quickening as he raised his hands over his own head, dancing to the movements of his alien counterpart. Zim moved his fingers to the ends of the ties, tugging them apart with the smallest of moans. His hips eased from side to side while that robe fell open to show off his flawless Irken form. The human choked on his own sharp intake of breath, his body freezing for a whole minute as he took in all there was to see. The Invader let the robe fall off his arms as he moved only his lower half. His panties tugged tighter at his hips and ass as he did. Licking one finger, he slipped the wet digit down his entire front, bouncing in time to the gasps that were escaping Dib's strangled throat.

Moaning like he was being ravished, Zim suddenly slid his entire body down as if his back was against a pole. His legs bent, his slit on full display only a couple feet from Dib's outstretched hands. That Irken Invader moved his hands over his head, twisted his hips, the entire way down and the entire way up. Every motion was fluid, his back bending as though this was one of the most familiar things in his entire world. He halted nearly all the way up and gave the smallest pants, adjusting his hips so his slit was pushed forward. Twisting around, Zim inched his way back down, his round ass moving slowly from side to side in front of Dib's quivering hands. Those panties squeezed at his bottom, tighter and tighter still the lower he moved. Then he moved back up, popping his ass like he knew exactly how perfectly formed his heart shaped ass was. The faster Dib panted, the faster his hips began to move as he eased back around. Just when the human thought his heart was about to burst, the Irken did the absolutely unexpected.

Zim's boot slammed into the couch next to Dib's leg, positioning the alien directly over the human's lap. He ran his wet fingers over the shaking boy's face, moving them tenderly to his shoulders. There, he jerked Dib forward, pulling him up until they were eye level. The look that possessed that Invader was sheer, undeniable lust. He panted over the burning red face of the human before he licked his lips with one wet motion. Fire burst throughout Dib's entire body as he felt his shaft beginning to harden. He opened his mouth, eyes closing half way, as that grip tightened dramatically on his body. Heat danced between the two, rising off their bodies, as their lips hovered only centimeters away.

Then Dib was shoved backwards and Zim dropped down to grab the robe. As the human sat in stunned silence, the alien tugged the silk garment back on. That luscious form was immediately hidden, although that pretty shape was not. Zim pulled the money from his panties and began to count up what he could use it for as he walked away. Those boots made hollow thuds on the floor. When he reached the wall, he turned back around to where Dib was gasping for breath. The Irken pointed at him, his signature look crossing his otherwise unmoved face.

" Do you wanna come down to my medical wing to take care of those contusions, Dib?" he questioned, motioning up and down at the bloodied bruises that littered his body. For a moment, the human couldn't response, for he was still in shock over that performance. Slowly, though, the pain returned. Nodding reluctantly, he pulled himself stiffly to his feet. He stumbled over to the kitchen that Zim was marching through.

" I don't care what you say, Zim. . . you should've been an Irken stripper, not an Invader," Dib idly teased, running a hand over his face as he slipped into the pantry lift. He was flashed a smug grin as the alien hit the down arrow. They began to descend into the base, " How on. . . uh. . . Irk did you learn to do that? What, did you put yourself through training stripping or something?"

" Or something," Zim vaguely said, waving his hand as though waving away the compliment of his skills. Dib tugged on his shirt collar, smiling down at that short little creature. A second passed in which the Irken didn't notice the stare. When he did, however, he gave the other a strange look, " What?"

" Or something? What? Did you take lessons or strip professionally or what?" he pressured, poking Zim in the arm. His hand was smacked away although he didn't fail to notice the brief smile that appeared. Dib openly gaped at the Invader, " _Did_ you strip professionally?"

" It wasn't professional, Dib-human. . .it was semi professional,"

" Whoa, whoa, whoa! You never mentioned that you were a stripper on Irk! Do tell," Dib pleaded, clasping his hands together. He tried to give the alien some form of puppy dog eyes, but his own perverse interest showed through much stronger. Instead, Zim rolled his eyes and ignored the request to explain. Dib begged for a couple minutes longer while they traveled deeper and deeper underground. His requests went unanswered as the Invader idly tugged on the sleeves of his robe. Eventually, the human stopped begging. Giving the other a curious look, he rubbed his chin, " Just a question. . . since I know your qualifications. . . would you happen to have used your skills to get the marks required to become an Invader?"

" Oh, well, look, here we are. Let's go," Zim interrupted, stopping the lift and dragging Dib out of it. The walls were dimly lit with those same lights that lined the walls of the rest of the base. However, down at this sublevel, the walls didn't have any twisting wiring or anything. There were just solid slabs of purple metal to uphold all the dirt and water that was piled on this portion of the base. There were fewer hallways as well. Down the one to the right, Zim dragged Dib towards the hospital wing as the human stared at him in shock.

" Wow, Zim. . . I can't believe it. . . you were a little whore before you came here, weren't you?" he joked, allowing the alien to pull him through the hallway until they arrived at the brightly lit medical wing. Dib had been to this room several times over the years for a variety of reasons, so he was quite familiar with all the glass tubes of Irken medicine and the tools that lined the counter. He was shoved over to the plush swivel chair in the corner as he was given a penetrating stare. Zim absentmindedly gave him the finger as he pulled a medical swab from his pak, " Why won't you tell me the details, Zim? Are you embarrassed?"

" ZIM? Embarrassed? Don't be silly, earth child," he stated in a rather assertive tone while he gathered up some medical supplies. Dib arched an eyebrow at that, " I merely do not wish to partake in any of this ridiculous nostalgia,"

" Who did you sleep with to get to be an Invader?"

" I did not need to sleep with anyone, Dib-human. I _did_ have a steady lover throughout my entire training, much unlike _you_, who can't get a date to save your pathetic little life," Zim sneered back, placing all the medical equipment on a table he dragged over specifically for that purpose. At that, Dib gave him a rather venomous look. The Invader ignored the expression as he opened up a bottle of disinfectant. He dabbed a little on the swab, " This may sting a little, so be prepared. I won't have you screaming and knocking this all over me like last time,"

" _Last_ time, you jabbed a needle full of an antidote into my arm without warning me. I can handle a little stinging, Zim," he hissed under his breath as the other started to dab his various cuts and bruises with the solution. True to his word, there was a light burning sensation. Dib refused to complain about it, less he have to hear about it for the next couple of years.

The medical wing was silent as Zim tended to all the bruises that covered Dib's body. As he went about his business, Dib glanced at the place he had visited almost as much as the weasel containment center. The hospital wing of the base was broken up into three separate sections that were divided by screens that were a lot harder to adjust then he had given them credit for. The first of those sections was the one he was in now. The room was a bit of a circle, somewhat an oval. The walls were lined with a cabinet system that held all sorts of medical supplies that were necessary for both Irken and human injuries. The top of those waist high cabinets served as a counter. Above them were a couple of screens that were most often used to examine X-Rays for potential broken bones or to search for hairline fractures. In the middle of the room was the chair that Dib was seated in. It could be adjusted into any shape or form to fit the person seated in it. Currently, it was straight backed and upright.

The second section was one Dib had seen only once when Zim wasn't feeling all too great about a year beforehand. The place was a small square area about half the size of the section he was in then. It had one cabinet system, although they were slightly taller then the other ones. They all had different color handles as well, as if it was incredibly important for each cabinet to hold only one thing. As Dib had learned, some of those cabinets were airtight whereas others were coolers. The only one that he had seen opened was neither. In this room, there wasn't a chair, however. There was a squat bed off to the other wall, complete with pillows, sheets, and a book laying on the covers.

The only time Dib had been in that room, he had been delivering the Invader a couple days worth of homework. He had been permitted into the house by the computer interface, then directed to the second section by Zim's voice over the intercom. He had found the alien face down on the bed, his antennae twitching, and his toes curled. His gloves, boots, and shirt had been thrown to the side. Hearing him come in, Zim had pointed at the counter and asked if Dib could get him the bright pink container from the cabinet with the green handles. The human had done as he was asked, then he had watched as Zim had taken a long swing from the contents of the container. After Dib had put it back, he had placed the bag of homework on the floor and kindly excused himself to go upstairs and watch TV. Three hours later, Zim had shown up, a little under the weather, but otherwise fine. He had never explained what had been wrong. The only question he answered, in fact, was that the second section of the hospital wing was his own personal hospital room.

As for the third section, Dib only knew what it was for. Zim had told him it was for surgery. However, it was not for experiments on humans or animals, as those surgeries took place down in the experimental wing. Rather, this section was for any surgeries that the Irken himself might need in the event of serious injury. Despite his assertion that it had never been used, the human often thought otherwise. He had never mentioned it, really, for he didn't know how the Invader would take to his suspicions. Thus, he had never seen it and only knew what it was for. He didn't even have an inkling as to what it might look like or even hold. After all, he had no clue what was necessary for Irken surgeries.

Of the hospital wing, Dib had really only seen about half of it, regardless of how often he ended up there. In the years since he had become friends with Zim, he had repeatedly needed medical attention. Part of that was due simply to their often times brutal physical fighting over mindless junk ranging from Earth to cheating at video games to blowing off some steam. The majority of it, though, was because Dib had reluctantly agreed to become a specimen for the Invader's tests. He wasn't entirely sure how he had become a lab rat. If he had to say so, he was almost positive that Zim had done some sort of mind control trick on him one evening. Nevertheless, he had agreed. The tests weren't nearly as painful or deforming as the ones Zim preformed on humans he had no connection to. Rather, these were experiments on the human reaction to stimuli and examinations. For the most part, the alien gauged Dib's brain activity while viewing certain things in order to gather information on what the human race perceived as torture and the like. However, there were some experiments where the younger boy was put through exams that included lasers or obstacle courses. During those tests, Dib usually managed to slam into something or get hit at least once. After being successfully run into the ground, Zim would take him down to the hospital wing and treat the injuries to the best of his abilities.

To that end, the Irken wasn't entirely the gentlest doctor. He liked to poke and prod the human for laughs while he stitched up gashes or plastered creams over burns. He did have some impressive skills, though. Dib was grateful for that, as he had been terrified the first time Zim had offered to patch him up. Nowadays, he just idly sat in that familiar setting, letting the alien do his job. He did his best not to move, for the older boy tended to grab his face a little too tightly whenever he did. In due time, the last cotton swab was laid down and a smilie face bandage was pulled over a cut on his arm. Sighing then, Dib relaxed his stiff joints, watching as Zim threw away all the used supplies. While he did, the human stared off into space, listening to those boots tapping on the metal. When the tapping halted, he turned in that direction to see the Invader examining a box of Earth bandages.

Blushing lightly, Dib lowered his eyes to the shapely curve of that creature's ass. He could see how that robe folded over that round body part, forming that adorable heart shape all over again. A grin crossed his face as he saw Zim shifting his weight around. The silk tugged around those hips, dropping into the loose ties that hugged the swollen belly at the Invader's lower waist. Dib felt his eyes traveling back to that succulent bottom when he froze in a mixture of confusion and shock. Turning back, he examined Zim's waistline. The alien usually sported a almost unnoticeable curve to his otherwise flat stomach. Right then, however, there was a arch to his waist that was a couple inches bigger then normal. Blinking, the human tilted his head, trying to make sure he wasn't just imagining it. There was no way he was, he knew, when he saw Zim reaching up and stretching his arms. The fabric pulled tighter around his stomach, pronouncing the curve even more. Yawning into the back of his hand, Zim walked away from the cabinets as Dib continued to stare at his full middle. Finally, the human cleared his throat and pointed at the curve in question. His gesture made the alien stop walking, casting him his signature stare of one eye half narrowed, the other fully opened.

" You look fatter then usual. What gives?"

The look that Dib was thrown was open mouthed, narrow eyed outrage. Fire burned through the air as Zim's eyes lit up in a fury unmatched by anything previously shown. Not even groping him while he slept seemed to bring about the sheer horrified rage that coursed through that shaking body with clenched fists and gritted teeth. The human could almost feel the heated emotion as Zim stormed across that room with enough force to make his footsteps echo out into the base. He drew back his fist, his pink eyes livid beyond all reason.

" And just WHAT do you mean by 'THEN _USUAL!!!'_" Zim roared as he slammed his hand down into Dib's face. His palm crushed the human's already throbbing nose, his nails cutting into his cheeks. Dib let out a stunned moan as his head was smashed backwards into the stiff back of the chair. Fury collided with his cold fear as those eyes widened in what could only be described as hysterical anger.

" It was a joke! A joke! I was only teasing!" Dib protested in desperation to keep his head attached to his body. He grabbed at the alien's wrists, doing his best to pry those fingers out of his flesh. He had the strongest impression that the only thing he was doing was encouraging Zim. The grip tightened as he let out a whimper that he rarely ever uttered. The sound made those antennae perk up, but the facial expression did not change at all, " Oh, c'mon, Zim! Leggo! It was a joke! Get over it! I didn't mean anything by it! I was just saying that you've gotten heavier!"

" '_HEAVIER'?!_ " he sneered out in that same deliriously deranged voice he used when he was far off the deep end, " As in you think ZIM was already heavy?! What kind of joke is this?!"

" There's just no winning with you, is there?" Dib questioned, giving the Irken a mildly annoyed look. Those eyes grew that much wilder when he wasn't pleading for mercy. He felt blood beginning to trickle down his face from where Zim's fingers were plunging into his skin, " OW! Dammit, stop it! Let go of me or I swear, you'll regret it!"

" ANSW-"

Before Zim could get the command out, Dib kicked at him as hard as he possibly could in order to free himself from that death grip. Normally, Zim would either get struck and let out a couple swears or he would catch his ankle and make him beg for pity. This time, however, he jumped out of the way, his eyes wide with a fear that was completely foreign to the human. Drawing away from the younger, Zim held out his hands as if in surrender. His antennae were on edge, straight up with the ends pointed towards Dib. There was a cautious look about that curvy form as he took a step backwards in the direction of the cabinets. That alone was enough to make the human tilt his head in sheer confusion. When the Irken placed a hand on that curve, though, Dib's eyes widened in stunned amazement. He shook his head, watching as his companion slowly stood up straight, his fingers resting lightly on his belly.

" Zim. . . what's going on?" Dib questioned, his head turning to the side as he gazed at that stomach. In his mind, he recalled how both the Tallest had seemed to be protecting the Invader. He saw a brief flash of Tallest Purple placing a hand on Zim's stomach much like the alien was doing now. He knew how it looked, but he wouldn't allow his mind to jump to conclusions, not this time. Thus, he just observed as the other rubbed his stomach as he bit his lower lip. There was a moment when the question went unanswered. Then Zim gave a low sigh, rubbing his forehead with both hands. When his hands dropped to his sides, he looked over at Dib with a somber hesitance that was borderline fear. Swallowing deeply, he confirmed the human's outlandish conclusions.

" I'm pregnant, Dib,"


	7. Chapter 7

The minute after Zim told him he was pregnant, Dib wasn't quite sure his brain was functioning correctly. He knew he had either heard him wrong or was experiencing some form of major head trauma. There was a steady pause, then, as he felt along his bruised and bandaged head. Although he might have had a concussion, he wasn't entirely sure it was severe enough to cause such bizarre hallucinations. Thus, he just shook his head and squinted his eyes at the semi flustered alien glaring at him. Zim, however, didn't repeat his assertion. He merely stood there, his pink eyes observing the blank expression the human knew he was wearing. They stared at one another for a couple minutes longer before Dib mumbled that he wasn't sure he had heard correctly. The only sharp response that he got was that he had, in fact, heard right. The Irken was indeed pregnant.

Eventually, a light went off in Dib's head. The shock that had slowly been building slammed into him with a force identical to when Zim had kicked him in the head. He stumbled over the words to express his horror, his amazement, his shock, at that statement. There were no words, though. He found himself utterly speechless as his mouth hung open without his control. Every thought that rushed through his frazzled mind was fragmented, only half formed, if that. His eyes widened painfully in his face as the color simultaneously drained and flushed across his cheeks. His hands gripped the edge of the chair he was in, his back went rigid, and still there were no words capable of expressing what was going through his head. In all honestly, Dib wasn't even sure what was going through his mind. There were too many emotions for him to focus on just one. The whirlwind that rendered him lifeless spun him around several times before one final thought burst through the jumbled mess. Without any restraint, he spat out the only thing that seemed to be a complete sentence. He wasn't even sure what he was saying until he had already said it. Then it was much too late for intelligent thought and graceful tact.

" I thought you said you weren't a girl!" Dib exclaimed, his voice much louder then he had intended it to be. Whatever reaction Zim was apparently waiting for, that was not one of them. His eyes widened, then narrowed as though confused and shocked at both his gall and his apparent obliviousness to the pregnancy in and out of itself.

" I'm NOT! I already explained this to you, Dib!" Zim snapped back, hands on his hips and nails digging into the silk fabric. The look he got in return was one of question as a finger was jabbed at his curved stomach.

" If you're not a girl, then how come you're pregnant! You said your race couldn't even conceive naturally! This isn't funny, Zim! Stop messin' with me and tell me what's really going on!!" he protested, jumping off the chair and storming over to the Invader. Zim stood his ground, his antennae slicking back as he glared venomously at the taller boy. There was an untold mixture of rages rushing to life between them, rearing to get out and launch into a full on war.

" I _said_ it was RARE for Irkens to get pregnant! And ZIM is not messing with you, human! I am pregnant but I am NOT a female, for the last time! The Almighty ZIM is a male!" he snarled in a cruel tone that felt like sandpaper on the other's skin. Dib, however, refused to back down. He thrust his finger into the alien's face, his own eyes livid with anger. He wasn't entirely sure why he was so angry. He assumed it was the accumulation of a very horrid day, but he didn't think too hard on it. Dib just let that fire burn as he backed Zim into the counter of the cabinet systems.

" I don't believe you! If you're a girl, just come out and say it! What is your problem, anyways, with females?! I don't honestly care if you _are_ one! But if you're pregnant, then you _have_ to be one!" was Dib's snappish retort, his finger pressing into Zim's shoulder. Those pink eyes flashed, a hysterical touch running over that small alien form. There was a split second where the human regretted bringing this sore topic up again. Just as he was backing down, however, he was shoved backwards a couple of feet, nearly to the point of falling to the floor.

" I am NOT a female, dammit! My _problem_ is that YOU insist that I am! I don't _have_ a problem with females! I just know that I am not one!" Zim roared at him, his voice growing louder then was deemed necessary. The thunderous sound crashed down over Dib with a cutting sensation that brought to life a world of regret. Swallowing hard, the younger attempted to sidetrack where ever this argument was heading. His wrist was grabbed as his words were drowned out by a sharp hiss of the Invader, " And if you don't believe me, then I'll fucking prove it to you!"

Before Dib could register exactly what was happening, his mind went utterly blank in a pounding heated silence that slowed time down at the same time it sped it up. The black bathrobe was undone, those lovely lace fringed panties were jerked down, and a fiery explosion of useless thoughts rendered the human a void of wide eyes. It had been many years since he had seen Zim naked. He had managed to see the alien without any clothing a grand total of four times before that morning. The first was when Zim had tinkered with his pak and grown to the height he remained at. The second had been when Dib had stumbled into the hospital wing unannounced, catching the Invader with his pants down to tend to a slice on his inner thigh. The third had been another unannounced visit, this time to the alien's loading dock. At the time, Zim had been changing from uniform to spacesuit and had been quite naked at the moment of the other's arrival. The last had been the most memorable, the most beautiful, most heartbreaking moment that existed between the two. In that suddenly still second, Dib felt his memories crashing back to the only time he had ever seen Zim's vulnerable side.

A soft sob echoed throughout everything that was and wasn't. There was the briefest flash of that pale green form bent over his knees, hands gripping his waist to hold onto the only thing that had meant anything. He heard that choked, desperately ached voice ringing out with those deafening words. The second when Zim had become realer then ever ripped through Dib's heart like a needle that would forever pierce his soul. Years had pasted since last he had seen that body break, those eyes shatter, that entire being clatter to the ground with an empty clang of armor dropping away. That last time, that only time, still made Dib shudder as his body went stark ice cold. He heard that profound statement ringing from the depths of that darkened memory.

Then the memory was gone as his hand was torn from his side, his body slamming into Invader Zim's short, semi slender form. Dib's gold eyes zeroed in on that shapely piece of Irken anatomy with a twisted grin appearing. The alien swiveled his curved hips into the human's pelvis as he held the boy. What came next was enough to make a loud, pulsing scream smash into the air. Dib jerked back in shock so fast, his glasses actually slipped off his nose and fell unnoticed to the ground. Then every other thought was washed away by a single perverse thought.

Dib had his hand inside Zim.

The grip at his wrist changed to violently strong, using those two fingers to make his fingers fully extend. A small squeak escaped the human's mouth as he felt the wet, warm privates of the alien. Fluid dripped over his knuckles to his wrist, a clear liquid that splattered from his hand to the floor. His chest fought with the air he tried to both inhale and gasp, his eyes practically popping out of his skull. He couldn't see anything really, but he didn't need to see. The feeling of those tight, slightly convulsing walls around his fingers was quite enough. Sweat ran down his back as he felt his cock hardening. When Zim spread his legs, popping his butt up to change the position, Dib moaned out uncontrollably. The sound was throaty, strangled, as if someone had a death grip on his neck. The Invader breathed out heavily, one hand groping blindly to rest on the taller boy's shoulder. His nails cut in as he forced that hand into his slit until Dib felt his knuckles pressing firmly against the outer lips of that area. His index and middle fingers were thus completely submerged in liquid fire that smoothed over his digits in frequent contractions. The alien shuddered, a red tinge appearing on his cheeks. His pink eyes looked delirious, but his voice was still strong and commanding.

" Flex your fingers, human. . ." he ordered, pressing his forehead into Dib's chest as he shivered. There was a second where the language he used was utterly foreign to the boy, despite being clear English. Then the command become comprehendible. Giving the faintest of nods, Dib moved his fingers within those pressing walls. There was a convulsion that made Zim pant harder over his body, " D-Do. . . you feel that hard platform. . . ne-near the back?"

Listening to what Zim had to say was proving more and more difficult the longer Dib kept his fingers inside that warm fluid place. Fighting with his body and mind, then, the human forced himself to pay attention. He flexed his fingers in an effort to locate that which was mentioned. A sharp sound was made the second he brushed up against a jutting surface deep within the Irken. Feeling along it, he brought a series of spasms and gasps from his companion. Every one made his cock harder, his body tightening to the very sound. The walls around his hand contracted violently, more fluid dripping out of the slit. Those nails in his shoulder dragged down his arm as his name was whispered, followed by a word in that alien tongue. His head swam as his hand was drowned in fire that flowed from his fingertips to his very blood. His soul was lit ablaze when he heard a wet voice utter a shaky moan that just smoothed over his skin. Only the tiniest of nods could be given while his mind melted into the sensation of this intimate encounter.

As his gold eyes started to roll back into his skull, however, he was shoved backwards. His hand was ripped out of that sticky area. Dib stumbled backwards a couple steps in terrified shock. The fear was misplaced, he knew, but he felt it anyways. That was quickly replaced by crushing disappointment that made his face fall a thousand different ways. Zim snatched up his slick hand and made quick work of wiping the fluids away. Then he hastily fastened the robe around his curved middle, hiking his panties back up to hug that seductively coy area between his legs. The alien proceeded to wipe down the insides of his thighs. All the while, Dib watched him with defeat written clearly on his face. He didn't try to hide the expression, even if he knew he was probably only going to receive some sort of angry response for it. As it stood, the Irken didn't address whatever look he noticed he was being cast. Rather, he just collected himself and threw the washcloths away in the mini trash bin in one of the cabinets. Once he had a calm look over his green face, he pointed down at his privates.

" What you felt was my shaft. Female Irkens do not have one. I do. I am a male, regardless of however you humans are built. I am male and I'm pregnant," Zim stated in a final voice, waving his hand dismissively at the other boy. Dib, though, was still in the process of gathering himself. When he failed to respond, he was cast a mildly amused glance, " No witty comeback, human worm? What is that saying of your planet? Ah, yes. Cat got your tongue?"

" Sh-shut up, Zim. . ."

" What's the matter, Dib?" he cooed out in a catty voice, pressing a finger to his lips as he puckered them. A mischievous glint appeared in his softly narrowed pink orbs, one that was familiar. A grin snaked it's way over his lips as he slipped his short frame over to the human. Playfully, he lifted the edges of his robe, " Did that get you hot?"

" You. . . you're a jerk. . . stop messing with me," Dib sneered back, pushing a hand into that smiling face. Zim backed up with a laugh that cut through the other. All Dib could do was shoot him a dark glare before he flipped him the bird. The laughter grew more hysterical, the joke seeming funny only to the Irken. Rolling his eyes, the younger felt his usual indifference returning. That lingering heat was easy to ignore then when he jabbed his finger at the softly rounded stomach that pulled at the robe tied loosely about the alien's hips, " How can a male of any species get pregnant?"

" It's a birth defect, actually," Zim's laughter cut short, his smile disappearing right along with it. Dib arched an eyebrow, turning his eyes to the floor. He squinted at it for a long moment, then bent down to scoop up his glasses. He shoved them on in order to take a closer look at the swollen belly resting on those ties. He bent down until he was almost eyelevel with it, examining it. The Invader didn't appear to mind. He just idly yawned into the back of his hand, his other hand resting on his hip.

" Okay. . . so a birth defect allows you to get pregnant. . . that makes absolutely no sense. . . a birth defect gave you a uterus even though you're male? That's pretty freaky," Dib finally asserted, standing up straight and nudging his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. The look he was given was bored agitation, those antennae perking up slightly.

" I do believe, child, that the defining quality of sexual birth defects is that they be 'freaky'," he hissed under his breath. There was an unmistakable edge to his voice that got the human to raise up his eyebrows. Zim licked his lips in an angry fashion, as though he had a bad taste in his mouth, " On my planet, however, my 'freaky' condition is revered as a sacred condition known as being a Conceiver. Not only am I the rarest form of Irken, I am a prized specimen of ancient glory. So, you better watch what you say to ZIM, or else he will report your insolence to his Tallest and they can deal with you,"

" Whoa, whoa, Z. There's no need for that," he hurried to say, a confused expression overtaking the rest of his other emotions. There was a brief recall of the manner in which Tallest Red had shoved him to the ground, which brought a flinch to slip down his spine. Dib quickly waved his hands out, signaling surrender in one way at the same time he signaled a pause in the conversation. Both appealed to the Invader, who gave him a narrow eyed face. A second passed in which the younger fumbled on his word, " Look. . I. . . I didn't mean anything by it. . . here on Earth, we think pregnancy is a grand thing too. . . I'm just. . . having a hard deal. . . swallowing the fact that you. . . are. . . pregnant. . ."

" Well, swallow it," Zim barked, crossing his arms over his middle. His antennae shot up at attention. That gesture never proved to be a good thing, as it meant his defenses were raised. Getting through to the Irken was difficult enough without having to weasel through the cracks in his impressively deep personal shields. Choking on his initial attitude that wished only to smack the other, Dib tried again to express the returning whirlwind of emotions. There were several false starts before he just sighed and squeezed his eyes closed.

" How?"

The question was met with a pause. Dib lowered his hand slowly back to his waist, looking over at the other with a serious touch. Zim's eyes opened all the way until they were circles again. They looked at one another, before the alien motioned for Dib to take a seat. Taking a leaf from the Tallest, however, the human offered the chair to the pregnant boy. Muttering a thanks, Zim pulled himself up into the chair. He rested heavily against the stiff back as the younger stood in front of him. The pause was then a question of where to begin. Sighing then, the Invader undid his robe again. He pushed the sides away and gently touched his panties where they tugged at his slit. A feverish blush consumed Dib, although he did his best to focus on the words beginning to be spoken rather then the gorgeously formed privates of the older creature. As he did, Dib realized he was getting a new lesson in Irken anatomy. His perversion diluted itself into the interest of a paranormal investigator. He greedily lapped up every word, inching closer and trying to envision what it was the alien described as best he could.

The way Zim put it, there were two separate cavities located between his stomach and the entrance at his slit. The first was the cavity known simply as his cavity. At the base of this area was the platform that served as his shaft, along with two sacs that were his balls. This area was coated in a sticky clear fluid commonly referred to as 'milk' on Irk; on Earth, it was better known as cum. An Irken's milk was considered a highly fertile fluid, as it carried all the necessary properties for creating life. To that end, it held the Irken version of sperm known as seeds. Beyond that, there was a narrow tube connected to the upper portion of the cavity that emptied into the base of the second. This second one was known as a uterus. The birth defect that allowed it to grow within a male was a combination of the birthing facilities doing their jobs and failing to do them. They had constructed Zim as a modern male, but failed to seal the cavity as they did. As such, his genetic makeup automatically created a uterus for he had a cavity, which was biologically how females were supposed to be born. Since he had a uterus, if any seeds were fertilized, his body would naturally move the buds to his uterus in order to develop into a smeet. Once the bud was safely moved, the connective tube would seal shut so that the smeet couldn't be disturbed. During labor, then, the narrow tube would stretch to open the uterus into the cavity so that he could birth the babe. Thus was how a male Irken could conceive naturally.

As for how he had conceived, Zim decidedly did not answer that. Instead, once the explanation of how he could get pregnant was through, he closed the robe again. He rested his hands on either side of his stomach, his eyes lazily looking at the expectant face of the human. Sorely disappointed, Dib smacked his lips together, thoughtfully chewing over the explanation. He had hoped for a lesson in alien sexual encounters, but, as he always had, Zim remained mum. He wasn't sure if the Invader was embarrassed about the method in which he made love or was simply unwilling for the sake of being unwilling, though. With this particular creature, it could have been either, both, or an entirely different explanation. Regardless, Dib found himself much more accepting of this foreign concept now that everything had been explained in plain English. Nodding faintly, he again pointed at the small arch that stretched the other's clothing of choice. He was given that signature look in return.

" With Tallest Purple, right? That's what you were doing last night?" Dib questioned, tilting his head to the side. There was small amount of annoyance at knowing that he had gotten abandoned in the base with a whiny Tallest Red so that Zim could impregnate himself. However, he hid it the best he could under the layer of curious interest building in him. The Invader curtly nodded his head, refraining from commenting on anything about the sex in itself. The human ran a hand through his messy hair, avoiding the bandages, " Well, if you just got pregnant last night, how the hell are you already showing?"

" Showing?"

" You know, your belly," he motioned to his own flat stomach and made a small half circle over it. Zim glanced down at his curve and absentmindedly nodded, motioning for the human to continue talking. There was a small moment of hesitation as Dib gave him a bewildered look, which was returned in earnest, " Uh. . I asked you a question. It's your turn to talk, Zim. . ."

" You did? It is?" Zim asked in a vaguely surprised voice, his eyes opening a little more then they were. Almost immediately thereafter, his eyelids dropped heavily as he slumped a bit further down in the chair. The younger boy arched an eyebrow, observing the lazy actions with some curiosity. A three fingered hand was rolled over and over in the air, the motion seemingly addressing the confusion. Then the alien just sighed and rubbed his eyes, a yawn escaping his mouth, " Zim is very tired, Dib-human. . . could we continue this conversation later? I promise to listen to whatever it is you were, y'know, talking about when I wake up. . ."

" What? Wait a minute, we were talking about _you_. What's wrong with you? Do you not wanna answer the question? You don't have to, you know. You don't hafta make up funny excuses," Dib answered rather shortly, rolling his eyes and making a face. Zim gave him a penetrating stare that was more patronizing then angry, however, which did nothing to help the human's mood.

" I have no idea what you're prattling on about, but Zim really is tired. My head hurts. . . I'm gonna go lay down for. . . I dunno. . . a couple hours. . ." he mumbled under his breath as he slipped out of the chair. He yawned into both hands, this time much deeper so that his antennae twitched. His counterpart made a small noise in his throat and couldn't keep from rolling his eyes. The Irken failed to notice. Instead, he just shuffled out of the hospital wing with another long yawn.

" Why are you already showing? Your belly shouldn't be that big if you just got pregnant last night, Zim. You haven't even been pregnant for twenty four hours yet!" he protested, following him out of the room if only to continue this debate. He was given an incredulous look that made his blood run cold on instinct, " What? Was it something I said?"

" Well, of _course_ I'm 'showing', as you so blatantly put it, Dib. The smeet has to go somewhere, doesn't it? Can't very well grow into me, now can it?" Zim sneered at him with that normal arrogant streak returning quickly. The human shook with pent up rage, irritated that even when exhausted as this Invader apparently was, he could still find it within him to be a pill, " You act as if you've never known someone to be pregnant before in your life,"

" Well, to be perfectly honest, I haven't," he informed the other, drawing away as though hurt for some reason. There was a small 'oh' before a mild silence filled the hallway. A second passed in which Dib merely listening to the thumping of those leather boots on the railing, " Hey, Zim. . . how long do Irken pregnancies last?"

" Anywhere from eight to ten weeks,"

Immediately, the human stopped walking. Zim continued to saunter down the walkway until he noticed that he was not being trailed. Blinking a couple of times, he twisted around with a strange look on his face. Whatever expression he was giving, however, could not match the one he was given in return. Dib stared at him in a pleasant mixture of shock and awe. The shock was naturally from the disbelief that the alien race could reproduce at such a rate. The awe, though, was something of a surprise to even Dib himself. He wasn't sure if he was in awe that the Irken's could produce so quickly when they seemed to have human like qualities to their conceptions or if it was because Zim was going to be reproducing at that rate. Either way, it was there and it showed on his face. The Invader smiled in a confused manner, recognizing the awe, but clearly at a lost for why the younger boy had stopped walking. Clearing his throat after a moment, Dib made his way over to Zim. Hesitantly, they began to walk towards the lift all over again.

" Really? Human pregnancies last anywhere from thirty eight to forty weeks long. . ." he vaguely explained, waving his hand from his stomach to Zim's. The Invader scoffed at the idea, rubbing the side of his curve. Adjusting his glasses, Dib smiled almost uncertainly, " So. . . in two months or so. . . you'll be pretty big, huh, Z?"

" Your kind has no respect for privacy, do they?" was the curt response he received as Zim narrowed his eyes darkly. The human's smile faltered as he rubbed the back of his neck. Weakly, he shrugged and sheepishly he grinned. Those pink eyes rolled as if bored already, " I'll have you know, ZIM does not appreciate your less then admirable questions on his future size. And if you continue on the path you have decided to take, I will break your arm in the most horrible of ways,"

" Shesh. . . a simple 'yes' or 'no' would have sufficed. . ." Dib muttered, utterly overlooking the glare he got for saying so. They reached the lift then, and boarded it in silence. Zim hit the down button, which was the only reminder that the human got that the alien was going to sleep. He faintly wondered if that meant they were going all the way to his personal quarters or if they were stopping at the 'pit stop' area, as he referred to it as. Either way, they began to descend as the human pointed down at the curve. He didn't say anything right away, although he was aware how rude his gesture was, " Why?"

" Why what?"

" Why did you get pregnant?" he cautiously asked, letting his hand drop back down his side. Those pink eyes opened to their full size momentarily, then closed slowly. Dib didn't need to ask to know he had accidentally struck a nerve. Rather then retracting his statement, though, he waited out the quiet in hopes of receiving some sort of answer. A while drifted by, during which he became more and more certain that he would not be getting one. Eventually, though, Zim coughed into one hand and cast a forlorn sideways glance towards his human companion.

" Zim does not have the option of declining such a formal request as the one my Tallest gave me. I was obligated to agree and so I did," Zim stated in a serious voice that sounded oddly submissive. His answer got an expression of shock out of the other. The initial shock, though, melted into an unreadable look. The alien looked away, one shoulder shrugging halfheartedly, " In two months the business will be done with and I can go back to my mission. It's not that much of a tragedy, though I doubt you would understand,"

The insult fell on deaf ears, for Dib had already stopped listening. Rather, he turned his blank face away, swallowing dryly as he licked his lips. The Invader didn't appear to notice, as he had turned his attention to the levels they were slipping past. The human blinked a couple of times, but he found himself lost in the information, although it was not incredibly difficult to understand. He knew that Zim had made love to Tallest Purple and they were having a child together. Somehow, he failed to comprehend that. Searching the back of his mind, he knew why. He knew the answer long before he allowed himself to accept that he knew it. Sighing then, he gave in to the last half of the whirlwind of emotions that had poured over him since the first announcement that the Irken was expecting. He drowned momentarily in the sorrow, the guilt, and finally, the jealousy. He let himself drown, if only to reacquaint himself with the feelings. He then turned back to that green skinned creature with eyes like pink gemstones.

" If you're pregnant, that means you had to have made love to him," Dib whispered, unable to bring his voice up to a normal decibel level. Those cutting eyes squeezed shut, a hand moving to rub his forehead as if those words alone made his head spin and ache. A stiffness had consumed that semi slender body. After a long moment, Zim eased his eyes open. Still, he did not look towards the human whom had placed such a heavy gaze on him.

" Yes. . . we. . . made. . . love," Zim forced himself to say, his voice quiet and empty. The hollow quality almost ended the conversation that was coming incredibly close to treading on that thin line they never talked about. Yet, Dib moved so that he was turned towards the alien. He didn't say anything else as he watched Zim close his eyes again. When they opened the next time, the Irken twisted to face him as well. The somber look that had overtaken that face was enough to tell Dib that Zim knew what was coming next. For that reason alone, he paused. He gave him enough time to gather his strength, bring his shields to life, for he knew that the Invader was going to need all the help he could get for this one. That moment passed within seconds as a heavy silence settled in that lift. It could never have been enough time for the question that followed in a heated voice that couldn't have been more rigid.

" Then why couldn't you make love to me?"


	8. Chapter 8

A/N- Again, I interrupt you to inform you of some possible song titles to inspire the mood. I used 'Miracle' by Vertical Horizon, 'Almost Lover' by A Fine Frenzy, 'Come On Closer' by Jem, 'Falling' by Balligomingo, 'Vindicated' by Dashboard Confessional, 'Addicted' by Kelly Clarkson, and 'Stay Young' by Strata. I think they create the appropriate mood and setting for this chapter. If you do not like any of these, I would suggest something to creates a somber, desperate longing sort of emotion. Romantic in a heartbreaking way.

Thank you for your time. Enjoy.

* * *

The night could have ended a million different ways for a thousand different reasons. A mutual decision to raise the level of their relationship, however, had ultimately ended it. Four years had gone into that one solitary night. From the moment when the experiment with the pak had sparked their friendship to the second before the bedroom door had been pushed open, everything had been leading up to that final hour. The process had been steady to everyone else, sudden to the two of them. In what had seemed like seconds, they were stepping from an awkward partnership into the realm of passionate lovers. Hours of conversation, days of bonding, and years of constant contact had not prepared them for that day. Whatever they had thought about their relationship, everything had lain in ruins as one broke down in fitful sobs as the other sat in horror. They would never be the same from that second on, although they eventually picked up the pieces and clumsily tried to piece them together.

Everything had started simply enough. A request. Zim had requested Dib's assistance in adjusting his height to meet the standards of Earth. From there, the two had started a friendship that's foundation was blackmail and curiosity. Within the year, though, they had been connected at the hip. Dib had been profoundly interested in the culture that the alien brought to the table. Likewise, Zim had become submersed in the world of the human. In due time, the uneasiness of their connection had vanished. Replacing it was a playfully painful alliance between misunderstood, outlandishly different males. Whether they intended it or were even aware of it, their relationship quickly evolved from that. What had once been an experiment became an addiction of sorts. They were drawn to the other, grinning and poking one another as their fascination with the strange got the better of them. In due time, the video game marathons and lab runs melted into nightly conversations on Dib's bed and more risqué examinations at Zim's base.

The day that everything changed had been a Tuesday in the middle of winter when the human was fourteen. Snow had been falling outside, creating a wonderland that shimmered in the fading light of the day. Dib had been outside, watching the sunset, having been banished from the house by his enraged sister. There had come a loud shout before Zim had jumped on him, tackling him to the ground. They had rolled around in the show for only a second, then the alien was sitting up on top of his stomach. Zim had long since figured out that snow was frozen water, thus making it a perilous item. With the boy beneath him, though, he was safe from the stuff. He had insisted on keeping Dib pinned to the ground by slamming his three fingered hands down on the wrists of the younger boy. There had been something about the way the light had caught on those false purple eyes, some snow sprinkled in those black locks, that had stolen Dib's voice. A moment had passed in which the Irken blinked and mumbled what that look was for. Recognizing it with a blink of his eyes, however, a soft smile had crossed his lips.

They had kissed as the sun set behind the horizon of a world neither of them had ever belonged to. The kiss had been chaste, a mere brushing of lips, an experiment in the foreign. Dib had never kissed anyone before. Zim had not kissed someone in decades. The hesitation had been muted, brief, almost unnoticeable when they eased apart. The Invader had blinked several times, the human had smiled, and they had kissed again without prompting. Their next embrace lasted the entire night, as they laid out on the snow for hours, heat burning between them. They had retired to the alien's base for a long night in the hanger, snuggling in the Voot Cruiser.

By morning, Dib and Zim had become an official couple. They never knew if it came as a surprise to anyone else, seeing how they didn't talk to anyone but each other anymore. The next two years disappeared in a flurry of late night runs in the Cruiser, early morning phone calls, and plenty of passionate make out sessions at every location between the human's bedroom and the alien's base. Like any couple, they shared deep dark secrets, slept at the other's house, and cuddled while watching movies. To further their relationship, Dib had suggested they get to know each other even better.

A Friday night in mid spring a few months later had yielded those results. Sitting on the top of his house, Dib had pointed up into the sky. He had asked Zim to tell him whatever he could about Irk and the world he had left behind to seek his dreams of universal conquest. For the next few hours, the Invader had explained his home, from it's birthing facility to it's military to it's height status. He had glowed with furious pleasure to be able to talk about the things nearest to his heart. Trapped in a world that would forever be alien to him, Zim had been lost without his home. Four years he had been on Earth and he had served them like a prison sentence. That night, he had tossed away his usual hang ups about protecting his mother planet. He had just explained in wide eyed awe all that he knew of his world, to the eager ears of the human. Dib had listened and watched, taking in all that he could. The most amazing part had been seeing his closest companion alive with such emotion after years of knowing mostly just Zim's closed off, antisocial exterior. More then learning anything about Irk, he had learned the most precious thing that evening. He had learned who Zim really was when he wasn't protecting himself. He saw that hyper, overzealous, wildly insane alien for everything that he was. The sight was welcomed for it was beautifully raw. Dib could never be able to express his gratitude for being able to witness that disarming of the hardened soldier from another galaxy. He just hoped one day, he could return the favor.

He was granted his wish nearly a month later, on a Monday evening when the sky was black with rain clouds that thundered loudly. Zim had spent the entire weekend sprawled on Dib's bed, reading comics and watching bad television. When the rain had started to fall, the Irken had sat up as the other had typed away on his computer. Without warning, Zim had waved his hand at all the posters of paranormal studies and the like around the room. He had asked that the human explain the world that he observed, the things that captured his attention so thoroughly. The rest of the night had pasted as Dib had explained all the theories he had come up with about the supernatural, from the undead to werewolves to unexplained phenomenon. He had launched into many a tangent, waving his arms wildly as he showed the older boy all his research. He had completely abandoned his withdrawn nature, longing to share his passions with someone after years of vicious humiliation and ridicule. To that creature, he had bared his over eccentric, obsessive, highly passionate side without care or cause. In the end, Zim had been smiling at him with a certain intrigued look to his eyes. He had whispered that he hadn't known those things had meant so very much to him. Dib had known immediately that Zim felt the same way he had when he had heard that explanation of Irk. He saw all that Dib was and he thoroughly loved whatever it was he saw there. He drank it down and smiled that coyly cold smile he could get when he was trying not to show his true feelings.

From there on out, their relationship grew deeper, their lives more tangled together. They engaged each other with truly inspiring looks into their inner selves as they went throughout their days. There was no longer a need for restraint. Dib gave the alien a set of keys to his house so he could come and go as he pleased. Within three weeks, Dib's bedroom had been jammed full of junk that Zim decided to leave there, ranging from books to machines that barely worked to a couple spare uniforms. The one thing that had been utterly shocking had been the disc with the numbered passwords to the Invader's base. The human had started to use those passwords to visit his counterpart deep down in his metal fortress. He began to leave his own things there, until he ended up having to go over to the misshapen green house for his homework, shoes, and wallet. In time, there was no need for the other to be home for them to visit. Dib would come home from a trip to the store to find Zim eating candy at his computer. Likewise, Zim would arrive home to Dib browsing through his fridge for some snacks before settling back in for the remainder of his movie. Such surprise visits were often met with a quick kiss before the arriving member of the duo would go about whatever it was they needed to do. Such became the routine until that final hour of that last day.

Four years had gone into it. They had started off friends by convenience. They had become partners by choice. They had sought to become lovers by the same manner. The night had been a Sunday evening when Dib was sixteen. A dark, quiet, still day that descended into an evening of similar properties. Like always, it began with a request, a simple, harmless request. Dib had reached over the table of the dining room table and grasped Zim's gloved hand. He had whispered his desire to make love to the Irken, requested the privilege of doing so that very evening. There had been no reluctance. There had just been a meek smile before they were entangled on the sheets of the human's bed, the world oblivious to their union. Things had begun slowly, with hands moving over skin and flesh as clothes were pulled off in seductively playful motions. A laugh had echoed in the silence before Dib had Zim on the bed, their clothes long forgotten. There was no disguise, there was no pretension, there was nothing between them but all that they had ever felt for each other.

A kiss gave way to the taste of eternity when Dib had pressed his lips over that quivering mouth. Zim had run his bare hands over that strong back for the first time with shaky fingers. Things had never seemed so perfect. Unfortunately, they weren't meant to be. As the human had drawn back his mouth, his gold eyes had opened wide in horror. Running down those pale green cheeks were crystal tears, but the expression on the Invader's face was nothing close to joy. Zim had started to quietly sob, easing his body away from his almost lover with jerking motions. There had been questions that were answered only with quick shakes of that head. The tears splashed onto the sheets long before Dib had managed to lift his hands and place them on that boy's shoulders. He had drawn him close, devastated in ways he couldn't begin to describe. Breaking down in the most complete and utter way, Zim had dropped down so that he was thrown across the legs of the human who held him the best he could. The words that would haunt Dib for the rest of his life hit the freezing air with a force equal to a shot to the heart. The effect was quite the same.

" I can't. . . I can't, Dib. . . I. . . you don't understand. . . I was. . . raped,"

The rest of the night hadn't mattered after those words were said. Dib had never in his life imagined learning such a horrific thing about Zim in such a manner. Tears had started to run down his own face as the Irken had choked out a tale as twisted as barbed wire. Every detail mentioned cut through the human like a metal needle, bleeding him throughout the night. By the end of it, he had his head bent as silent tears rolled down his blanched face, a chill making him shiver uncontrollably. Years of knowing Invader Zim and he had never known. He had no idea how the older creature had managed to gather up enough strength to return to Irk and get a mission. Dib honestly just couldn't fathom how that frail being had become the arrogant boy he knew. He saw Zim sobbing into his quivering hands and he finally saw everything that he had ever wanted to see. The stark cold truth of who this person, this Irken, was had been bared before him. The sight wasn't something he could handle.

Dib could picture it. Zim had been abandoned at Foodcourtia to serve out a life sentence banishment. He had been vulnerable, a small Irken Invader who had only seen battle a hand full of times. He had been brutally assaulted for years, tortured, tormented, from dawn until dusk and longer. His body had been stripped to the bone, his dignity robbed until he was left wide eyed and traumatized. Nothing could ever truly heal a wound as deep and infected as that of a sex slave. An opportunity to escape had come in the form of Impending Doom Two. He had taken it, taken whatever mission he could get, and vanished from the world of his planet. The human could understand Zim's obsession with his job, with anything, even something as pathetic as a school yard rivalry. He had buried himself in whatever he could get his hands on, buried himself until he had no time to think of what his body, his mind, his soul had been put through. Exhaustion, obsession, compulsion, paranoia had consumed his world, leaving his absentminded, frazzled, on edge, permanently. Whoever he had been before his banishment had disappeared behind a mask of wild indifference, crippling hysterics, and disorders that sprang from deep seeded psychosis. Dib saw that, saw what had made the Irken 'Zim', saw the answer to the question he had always asked, and he was terrified by what he saw.

That terror had never subsided. The human had gotten his answer and the truth had eaten him alive. There were days when he saw Zim and he wondered who he used to be. He wondered which parts were manifestations of those cancerous years and which were truly him. He wanted to know how badly the Invader had been tortured, how extensive the injuries were. For years, he had questioned whether his counterpart had brain damage, hearing issues, even physical ailments. Now he looked on and he wondered if the abuse had rendered him with poor hearing, if he had suffered head trauma, if something had been broken. During these moments of pondering, Dib had subconsciously been pulling away from Zim. He hadn't even realized it. However, within weeks of learning the past behind that grinning face, they had reverted back into an awkward partnership. The final straw to their dying relationship came on a Wednesday nearly three months after that awful Sunday night. Everything had been entirely the human's fault. He knew it long before the Invader had told him so. He almost watched it unfold, knowing full well what was going to happen. It was the end of their coupling and it had all started so simply. There had been a request, for that was how it always went. A small little request to wash his hands and then it was over in a flurry of tears and screams that were two different tongues in the same breath.

Knowing that he could be heading in the same direction, Dib still asked Zim that devastating question. He knew that the Invader didn't want to answer, didn't want to hear this, but he asked it anyways. He probably should have waited or given more of a warning. Yet, the human didn't. He didn't retract his statement either. All he did was stand there in that lift, watching those pink eyes as they squeezed shut. Zim pressed his palms over his forehead, shaking his head. No matter what he did, though, Dib stood there. There was a cold fire burning under his skin, aflame from the jealousy and guilt. He knew he shouldn't have asked why the Irken had made love to Purple, but not to him, yet he did anyways. There were probably a thousand differences in the two unions. Maybe even more explanations. Dib put the responsibility on explaining them all on the Invader's shoulders by remaining quiet throughout the tense wait that followed his question.

The wait was not one that dissolved quickly. The lift came to a halt at the end of the elevator shaft, the doors eased open, and the stretch of hallway leading to the alien's personal quarters came into sight. Neither of them made a move to leave that confined space. During this pause, the doors closed slowly before the lift began to rise back up as it always did. They did nothing to prevent it from doing so. When they came to a stop at the pantry, the doors opened again. Dib almost stepped out into the kitchen/bathroom, if only so they could have a seat at the table. Instead, Zim hit the down button twice, closing the metal doors and sending them back into the quiet descent into the base that would take them all the way his quarters. Not a word was spoken in the entire trip from the highest level to the lowest level, no matter the stare the younger gave the older. As they came to a stop a second time, the Irken lifted up his hand. He pushed one finger into a frownie face button located between the up and down arrows on the panel near the doors. The lift stopped about three feet from it's final stop, leaving them stranded. Dib swallowed dryly, choking it down, as he prepared himself for the answer he knew he would never be ready to hear.

" Love making. . . was not what went on. . . last night, Dib. . . My Tallest impregnated me. . . that was all. . . it is entirely different. . then. . . what. . . I. . wanted. . . to do. . . with you," Zim whispered in a soft tone that sounded much like a broken version of his usually loud and commanding voice. The tone was shocking, the words infuriating. Dib felt a shudder constrict his throat as his hands clenched at his sides. Whether the alien saw or not, he gave no indication of noticing. Rather, he just touched his fingertips together as he huddled closer to the wall, " I. . . should. . . never have called it. . . making love. . . Zim was confused,"

" I don't see a difference," Dib hissed out, moving in slightly closer. He desperately tried to fight the urge to shake the smaller by the shoulders until what he said made sense. Before his eyes, he saw the Invader cover his mouth with cupped hands as if this very conversation was making him physically ill. Judging by the way his knees nearly buckled, there was a good chance it was.

" Where I come from, there is,"

" Oh, don't give me that," he sneered back, jerking his hand to the side at the thought. A fury he couldn't place was overtaking his better judgment. His knuckles turned a faint white for he was squeezing them much too tight for circulation. The words brewing within him spilled out before the human could stop them, " It's always Irk this and Irk that! I don't want to hear that tired excuse! There is no possible way that you could have sex with one person and not with another with _your_ background because of your _culture_. Just admit it! You had sex with him because he's your Tallest! That makes hi-"

" Stop it! Just stop it!" Zim barked, his fist colliding with the wall with enough pressure to bend the metal. Instantly, Dib drew back, his voice cutting in mid sentence. Those pink orbs glowered up at him, a painful somber like anger melting over those delicate features. The alien seethed with rage in the pulsing silence for only a second, " Just stop it, Dib. . ."

" Why won't you just be honest with me?" was the only response Dib could bring himself to utter. Zim let out a sigh that was much softer then normal. He turned his hurt eyes away, his fist pulling gently out of the hole he had created. That small frame leaned up against the undamaged wall as a three fingered hand smoothed up from his lips to his antennae. All the while, the human stood there in shaking rage and pain, unable to process which was the most important emotion to latch onto.

" Zim is not lying to you, child. If you don't believe me, then that truly is your own problem. I am tired. I am pregnant. I cannot do this with you right now. This is a highly sensitive time for me, so I cannot afford the stress that you insist on bringing into my life. If you wish to stay in my base, I suggest you return to the upper sections. I, however, will be retiring to my quarters," Zim stated while pressing the down arrow again. The lift moved down the three feet it had left to go, then the doors whizzed open as they always did. Glancing at the frustrated human, the alien stepped out into the dark hallway.

" No,"

Grabbing hold of Zim's wrist, Dib stepped out of the lift as well. He slightly pushed the semi stunned Invader backwards as those doors whizzed shut. The lift began to raise, those pink orbs watching it leave them there. Calling it back and shoving Dib back inside it would have been easy. Instead, he just stood there as his wrist was released. The younger was quiet for a moment, attempting to gather himself for what he needed to say. He could think of a million different things he ought to say, in light of everything, and a thousand more that he just wanted to say in order to get it off his chest. None of them was what he actually said, though. His gold eyes danced along that dimly lit stretch of metal, then moved down to the soft arch at the Irken's waistline. Sighing out, he rubbed his fingers over the bridge of his nose. Hesitantly, he lowered his arms and turned his face defiantly towards the pale green one of the other.

" I'm coming. . . to lie down with you. . . because. . . it feels like. . . the right thing to do. . ." he started, jabbing his finger at the door just barely within his line of sight. Zim turned to look at the door momentarily, then fixated his heavy gaze back on the human. A deep swallow of air was taken, then Dib motioned idly to that curve, " I. . . understand that you're in a. . . family way, so I will wait. . . to talk to you about. . . _us_. . ."

" There is no 'us', Dib-human," Zim muttered, twisting away and heading down the hallway. He did not address the rest of the statement, which could have meant a number of things. Ignoring that fact, the human cautiously made his way after that retreating creature. Nothing was said of the matter, so he assumed it was alright. Once they reached the door, the alien stopped and briefly glanced over his shoulder at where the other hovered in quietly dejected agitation, " A week,"

" What?"

" Wait a week and Zim will answer you," he mumbled under his breath, placing his hand on the scanner by the side of the door. The door opened as Dib felt his body growing rigid. There was a mixture of shock and fear that washed over him then, nearly preventing him from making it into the room before those doors bolted themselves shut. Regardless, he didn't hear them, for he had gone deaf for the briefest of times. By the time his hearing had returned, then, Zim was pointing at the armchair off to the right side of the room. The human's head looked at it, then back at the alien.

" I'm sorry. . . I didn't hear you," Dib meekly admitted, rubbing the back of his neck uncertainly. The look he was shot was cold enough to freeze water, but he could only shrug in answer.

" You must sleep there, over there. You may not sleep with Zim," he repeated with a noticeable edge to his voice. He jabbed his finger at the chair before his counterpart, although that honestly wasn't the answer Dib had expected. He had thought that the Irken had been asking him to get something, not directing him to a chair in which to sleep. He voiced his opinion as the older dropped down onto his plush bed. His opinion, however, was dismissed with a flick of wrist, " It's not proper for a male such as yourself to bed with a Conceiver in their first week of conception. Zim banishes you to the chair. Deal with it, Dib. I am too tired to listen to your whinings,"

Outright ignoring whatever Dib might have said, the Invader laid down on his mattress and pulled the sheets over his semi slender body. His eyes fluttered shut while his antennae lowered until slicked back against his head. Although the other knew he wasn't really asleep yet, he also knew how difficult it would be to get his attention. Zim had enough problems hearing people when his antennae were perky. Once flat, it became quite the task to communicate with him. Thus, the human could only sigh as he cast a forlorn look at the armchair. He couldn't say he didn't deserve it, for everything, but he also couldn't help but be irritated with the turn of events. Sighing loudly, he slipped onto the chair anyways. He wasn't going to wake the warrior up to protest the lack of decent sleeping arrangements.

Besides, Dib had gotten what he wanted, in a way. Zim was going to tell him the truth. He merely needed to wait a week to hear it. With that in mind, then, the human finally settled in to get that good night's sleep he had been longing for all day. At the very least, when he woke up, there might still be a chance to salvage the weekend, as long as Zim wasn't too angry with him about that bold question. To that hopeful thought, then, he placed his glasses on one of the stacks of books. He slowly drifted off to sleep as he heard a buzzing sound start up in the distance.


	9. Chapter 9

The pacing was beginning to grow monotonous at best. The room was only so big. Thus, the pacing was really only walking in one straight line, then repeating the action in the opposite direction. The room itself, of course, was incredibly large. There was space to house a massive bed that spanned almost the entire length of the place, two plush reading chairs in front of a huge telecommunication screen, a semi circular eating table complete with matching chairs, and a variety of random end tables stacked with books on every subject known to the Irken race. There was even space left over for a shelving unit to the right of the bed that held mini statues of every planet that currently belonged to the Empire. The room left to be walked in, however, was just the single strip from the double sliding doors to the right to the entrance of the closet on the left. That was all he could pace, continuously, as he had been doing since they had woken up to the sound of someone's engine backfiring. He walked back and forth, back and forth, his antennae bouncing as he rubbed his slender fingers over his arms. His footsteps were distracting in the worse sort of way. His counterpart merely laid on the overly large bed, his deeply red eyes moving from side to side as the other paced. On and on this went for nearly an hour until the display began to wear on the older one's patience. He really couldn't handle this any longer.

Letting out a loud sigh, Tallest Red pressed his knuckles into his forehead. The sound was the first one either of the two Irken leaders had uttered since they had woken up and muttered hellos in groggy half dead voices. As the silence was therefore broken, Tallest Purple turned his head just a fraction of an inch. There was curiosity written on his normally amused face. At long last, he slowed to a stop so that he was standing in front of the oval shaped bed big enough for twelve Tallest. A hand was waved in his direction, Red mumbling under his breath in their native tongue. The words went unnoticed as Purple knelt on the edge of their plush mattress.

" What?" Purple asked of his other half, tilting his head to the side. Whether he meant the question as something kind or agitated, neither of them were entirely sure. His voice came out quieter then usual. He hadn't meant that. Still, he didn't bother clearing his throat to attempt again. Instead, he let the question hang in the air as he turned his violet orbs to the frustrated face of the other. Two garnet eyes gazed up at him from behind that clenched fist before Red flopped back over one of their various pillows. He jabbed a finger off in a random direction into the vast space of their personal quarters.

" Enough is enough, Purple. . . if you want to talk to him, then _talk_ to him," he groaned out in a stressed tone that was accented on every syllable. A visible shiver ran down Purple's back as he quickly averted his stare to anything but the other Irken in the room. As he went about searching for something interesting to look at, Red heaved himself off the soft pink array of pillows. He grabbed Purple's chin and jerked his head back in his direction. The moment their eyes were back on one another's, the touch eased down until his fingertips were idly resting on the smooth skin of his companion's face, " Pur, it's been two days. What could happen in two days?"

" Well, it's Zim, so. . . . he could be dead,"

" Oh, would you knock it off?" Red snapped, pushing his palm into Purple's face to shove him off the bed. There was a soft thud as the Tallest disappeared from view, followed by a snicker in two forms. A couple of whines were admitted as two hands thrashed in the air as if Purple were still in the process of falling. Ignoring his pleas for help, the other just laid back down amongst the mountain of pillows and various sheets of silk that lined their regal bed, " Nothing can kill, Zim. Everyone in the Empire knows that. That's why they all want to kill him,"

" Which is part of the problem, don't you think, Red?" he asked as he sat up, folding his arms on the end of the bed. He looked up and over at the other, but he received no other answer aside from a bored shrug. A moment passed between the two that was tense silence, one that disappeared only when Purple nodded his head in agreement to something unsaid. It remained as such as the Tallest ignored each other while looking directly at one another. The question asked never received a different answer.

For a long moment, Purple merely gazed at Red, observing the way that tall, slender body was reclined over pillows. His counterpart was dressed in only the under shift of their official outfit, much like he was himself. As neither emerged from their personal quarters until well pass noon, they hadn't bothered to get dressed to look the part of their position. As it were, the time did not exceed ten in the morning. With no actual drones to call their own private servants, they had no fear of being seen without their protective armor on at their alleged heights. Rather, they lounged in their most comfortable outfits, which was frequently nothing but often just the bottom skirt. Since they had not been between the sheets the evening beforehand, they were both dressed in their nightwear. During this silence, then, Purple observed the way that soft fabric folded over Red's long legs. Unlike him, Red was mostly leg, with shapely hips and full thighs that were commonly hidden. Right then, however, he was laid out in exhaustion from a fitful bout of insomnia and he did not care to hide his luscious curves.

That more then anything was what drew the younger ruler's eyes. He puckered his lips, his antennae perking up at the intriguing sight. Those garnet eyes closed slowly, his chest rising slower and slower as the sleep got the better of him. Years spent rising to the top, of conquering planets, of pretending he cared about this career had left Red weary and sickly. The truth of his condition had never been revealed. Then, Purple withdrew his gaze from those soft signs of breakdown to the pull of that uniform at those hips. Drawing closer, he pressed his slender fingers into the sheets near where his companion was attempting to rest. For everything, Red maintained the succulent curves he had worn when he had been in the Academy decades and decades ago. Biting his lower lip, then, Purple pulled the pillows back a ways to examine the body he knew better then his own.

His lover for more then seventy years, Purple knew all there was to know about Red's physique. With his uniform on, Red stood an impressive height nearly three heads taller then any other Irken other then his partner in crime. His legs were long, curved, and melted into delicate feet that ached and throbbed from reasons they didn't speak about. He had a slender waist that molded into a shapely upper torso, leading to a semi serious face drawn together with bored gemlike eyes and a snarling mouth of sharp wit. There was one scar, one imperfection on his glorious green canvas. From where Purple was kneeling, that slash could not be seen. For what it was and what it meant, he chose not to search for it. Instead, he raised his hand up a couple of inches in slow motion. He hesitantly placed a finger on the other's waist, where his stomach met his hips. He heard a soft moan, saw a flicker of antennae, but he just somberly smiled. A twist of hand and his finger pushed into the softest bit of belly, the smallest amount of weight located at Red's waistline near the edge of his skirt.

A finger was pressed into Purple's forehead just above his eyes, preventing him from doing whatever might have crossed his mind. Two deep red eyes looked over at him from the shadows of their magnificent excess. There was warning in that gaze that was threatening in one way, cautious in another. Red did not retract his outstretched hand until the other Tallest had done the same. While Purple let his hand drop into his lap as if suffering a punishment, Red curled his arm beneath him as he draped his body over one of the oversized pillows. He buried his face in the fabrics offered, his antennae falling forward until they rested on the sheets stretched before them. His curved bottom pulled at the skirt, his stomach pressed firmly into the pillow he was using as a perch. Red wiggled his bare toes, flexed his fingers, then just relaxed his tense muscles. His eyes opened and closed a few times as the other ruler sat in idle stiffness, his shapely legs tucked underneath him, skirt hiked up to ride around his less rounded hips. There was a click of tongue against teeth, then those knuckles pushed into Red's forehead.

" I don't know what you're waiting for, Purple," he muttered, resting his cheek against his arm. He kicked his legs back and forth in the air, giving Purple a heavy and hard stare that was impossible to avoid. The younger Tallest swallowed hard before clearing his throat in his fist. He didn't say anything, though. He merely turned to look at their bolted and sealed door with the giant Irken seal pressed into the pink and purple metal. He tried to pretend that he was interested in the welding, but his attempt fell flat. Nothing could shake that penetrating stare, not even his own desires.

Nonverbally admitting defeat, Purple twisted his skinny frame back to the more curved one of the other Tallest. He tried to avert his gaze the moment he was facing him. Alas, his attempt was again in vain. In the end, he was staring at those drowning blood red orbs that washed over him in ways he would never be ready to confess. He could hide no longer behind a mask of frustration, of worry. His fears were broadcasted as loudly as the sound of a canon ending a civilization's freedom. Such was how he felt as his most protected emotions were showcased without his ever needing to voice them. Thus was the power of that gaze, the gaze of someone his age who still had thousands of years of experience on him. He was stripped to the bone instantly, everything displayed for those garnet eyes to eat up and analyze as was this Irken's specialty.

Revealing the truth was difficult for Purple to handle. He wasn't easily swayed from a stance of resolute defiance. To allow his fears to be shown made his stomach churn, his eyes dart to the lightly colored walls, as his back went stiff with tension. He wasn't ready for this, but, as before, when he attempted to hide away, he was dragged into the light. He hadn't been able to keep his desires for a smeet a secret. Likewise, he couldn't do so with his newfound fears concerning that very topic. His worries, his obsessive thoughts, were scrutinized without his control, without his permission. As before, he just sat back and watched as everything went through the unspoken void of confession between the Tallest.

No words were necessary to express that he was concerned about the safety of his developing smeet. They weren't unwarranted fears, however. They didn't necessarily revolve around Invader Zim's penchant for danger either. That certainly did nothing to quench the uneasy nervousness that had descended on Purple since his arrival back at the Massive only a few days ago. Yet, the fears had begun long before Red had lied and told all their operatives that they had decided to go for a mini vacation. He had done everything not to showcase them while still at the Invader's home base. There was no doubting that's when and where they had begun to manifest, though. Just seeing that Irken with that loud and touchy human creature had been enough to awaken the more maternal side within the Tallest. Red had struck the child to the ground and he had been able to protect Zim and their smeet. They had established their concern and put that rough thing in his place. Still, he worried about the wellbeing of that unborn babe. He knew what the much younger Irken was capable of. The incidence concerning Impending Doom One may have been staged, but it's basis had not been. Rather, Zim had an impressive record of abusive behavior, rash decision making, and everyday insanity. Since his return from Foodcourtia, there was no denying the dislodged mindset he possessed was crippling at points, especially in the departments of judgment and caution. Couple that with a physically violent alien species, and they had a true recipe for disaster. Considering the time of the pregnancy that the Invader was currently experiencing, there was nothing unwarranted about Purple's feelings in the slightest.

After all, this was the first week of his pregnancy. Zim would be rendered utterly defenseless during this crucial time in their smeet's existence. Exhaustion would wear him down until he was sleeping nearly twenty four hours a day. His body would ache for the bed, his mind clouded by the delirium that this stage was renown for. With his mind a complete haze, his memory would disappear steadily over the days. Towards the end, he would be a complete mess, unable to get up or think of why it was he needed to move in the first place. As an Invader, Zim had secured himself a place on the hit list of many a rival planet's army. Although his existence as a Conceiver was a highly guarded secret, the sheer fact that his base could be left unguarded put him in grave danger. Seeing how the Irken had a bad enough memory and damaged hearing, this state could leave him open to countless attacks and the like.

Far worse then the potential for a hostile takeover, however, was the threat the Dib human posed to Zim and his smeet. The first week of Irken conception was an incredibly delicate time, even at the birthing facilities. Internal temperatures and conditions had to be maintained in order for a healthy fetus to grow. As an Irken's body temperature rose and fell depending on their stress level, it was crucial for a Conceiver to be at peace during the initial stage of their gestation. The Dib had an innate ability to get Zim's blood boiling, which could undoubtedly do harm to the smeet. The Invader was dangerously mercurial in his mood patterns. If given the ammunition, he could become enraged at the drop of a hat and remain as such for an extended amount of time. Although he had carried smeets before, this would be the first time he would be around someone who seemed so talented at infuriating him.

Beyond all fears concerning Zim's personality and home situation, though, was one that was rooted solely in the Irken's anatomy itself. There was a single serious flaw within their species' reproductive organs that had created the need to further the Empire with birthing facilities. Aside from the rampant birth defects that had manifested itself in the bloodline, there had been a terrible issue with miscarriages. The role of the Conceiver had reached such imperial status only because they could bare healthy smeets. One of the key points of that was the ability to simply complete a pregnancy without complications. For the majority of Irkens, if they could conceive, they couldn't get pass the first week. The fault was not within the females themselves, but rather their organs. The problem persisted even within male Conceivers of recent years, which included Zim.

The problem was the tube that connected the womb with the cavity. This tube allowed the fertilized seed to travel from cavity to womb where it would be incubated for several weeks. The tube closed in order for the womb to do it's part in this, then reopened at the time of labor. The issue was that the tube was not closed during the first week. Of course, there was a scientific explanation in that should the seed terminate itself due to complications, the seed could exit the womb. On the other hand, the sensitivity of the womb led to serious issues with the tube still opened. The most common problem was miscarriage, most of which were brought about by rough mishandling of a Conceiver or temperature irregularities. Both of those were perceived as complications where the seed would terminate itself. In ancient times, females miscarried regularly for even the slightest infraction to their bodies during the first week. The Conceiver was the only female capable of making it through this turbulent time. Recently, newborn Conceivers rarely miscarried unless their master disregarded their safety. Considering Zim's past experiences, there was minimal chance that he would miscarry for any reason short of being slammed into something repeatedly.

Rather, Purple's fears laid within a less common issue arising from the tube being open. Whereas Conceivers rarely, if ever, miscarried, they were at risk for early labor. During the initial stage of gestation, the tube would gradually close until shut entirely until the hormone levels within the womb and body signaled the time to reopen. However, should the Conceiver be mishandled, suffer from any illness, or even be kept awake, they could experience two side effects. One of which could be the adjustment of their womb, thus preventing the tube from closing entirely. With the tube remaining open, the body could perceive that the time for birth had already arrived. Regardless of the state of the smeet, the tube would fully open and the body would induce labor. Aside from that, the starting hormone levels could be affected by disease or failure to accumulate the correct amount of rest. If the levels were not correct, the tube could fail to close, in some cases, not at all. Once the smeet began to develop, the changing hormone levels would induce labor.

Either way, the body would force itself into labor. The result never failed to yield a lifeless smeet and often times critically injured the Conceiver. Many times, the womb was torn out by the force of the body initiating an early birth without the hormones that regulated convulsions, none of which were produced before week six of the gestation. As the womb was ripped out, the blood loss would drain the Conceiver of the ability to push. Unable to expel the organ, the Irken would wither in throbbing, unimaginable agony as their bodies swelled on blood, pus, infection, and even the smeet still within. Surgery would have to be performed, done in the form of an incision that went from the edge of the slit to the end of the ribcage. The womb would be removed, usually along with part of the cavity, the tube, and occasionally other organs that were damaged. The Conceiver rarely survived the surgery. They perished of a mixture of blood loss and shock, their bodies simply shutting down as they faded away in pain and sorrow. Although they rarely lived through this operation, should a Conceiver experience the pangs of early labor, they would demand it. Any decent Master, any self respecting male, would do everything in their power to ensure that their Conceiver received the murderous thing. The alternative was something no Irken could think of without feeling sick, without cringing, without closing their eyes in desperate prayer for those who had gone through it.

Considered the worse death imaginable, the death of the Conceiver was the taint of the Empire. One of the sole reasons behind the Tallests' decision to do whatever was possible to protect these creatures, it was incomprehensible to any other being who had not seen the torment. The fate of the Conceiver, the fate of becoming a sex slave, paled in comparison of the awful way in which these sacred beings most often met their end. Unless helped to the other side by method of murder or disease, Conceivers met their end by way of early labor brought about by some mistreatment in their first week. Unfortunately, their ability to overcome most often lead to the worse form of early labor: third stage 'miscarriage'. Upon entering the forth week, they began their third stage, up until the sixth week. Should the tube not have closed, usually of violent treatment that shifted the womb, this was the most common time the body assumed it was ready for labor. Inducing labor, the Conceiver would be launched into a severe threshold of agony as their body convulsed and their womb was ripped from their body. The blood would build up in their cavity, their slit unable to dilate to force the detached womb from their swollen and heavy bodies. Without surgery, the blood would swell them as their body spasmed, crushing their spines. Desperation would create hysteria, often leading to Conceivers tearing open their slits to push the mass from their twisting bodies. Organs would rupture as their womb, several dozen pounds in weight, shifted as it pushed through the tube. Their cavity would be destroyed. Should they be male, their platform would be crushed like their spines as their body forced itself to convulse in backbreaking shakes that went unchecked. Pressure would eventually tear their slits open, often at the time the blood loss rendered them unable to aid in their own labor. Lifeless, the Conceiver would collapse, screaming and crying while their body attempted to force their smeet, womb, and other organs from their body. During the process, many of them died by choking on their own blood or sick rather then blood loss. Those that didn't often had the pleasure of surviving the disfiguring labor in which something half their size was unwillingly forced through their undilated, inflexible slit. Those that survived the labor died within minutes from complications arising from organ damage, blood loss, and infection. None had ever survived.

The death of the Conceiver was most often caused by some cruel and vile treasoner master who injured the Irken during their first week of gestation. The womb could be shifted if enough pressure was applied to the stomach or if the body was jerked without concern. Any severe disruption of the stability of that particular location could create the necessary conditions required to induce such a vicious end. The smeet grew within the Conceiver's middle for a reason. The womb was located in the lower half of the waist, above the slit, below the navel. The area was supported by the spine, hips, and legs, as well as within the reach of hands to steady the curve as it grew. The location was as stable as any, resting on bone and protected by weight that would be added throughout the pregnancy. Should the Conceiver been mishandled, however, that location could prove fatal, as it was at the mercy of the Irken's flexibility.

Such were Purple's fears concerning his smeet's condition. He hadn't wanted to admit that his worries were rooted in primitive protection, although they most certainly were. He had bore witness to the Dib human's almost gross mishandling of Zim. He had been overcome with worry for the Invader's safety on that foreign planet. For the past two days, he had been distraught with those relentless pangs of maternal anxiety. Knowing Zim's erratic behavior quite well, he wasn't sure how he felt about having his babe within that womb. He knew the record the Irken had for child rearing, how he had flawlessly given birth to several smeets, and still he was bereted by flurries of worry. He had been stressing so badly, he knew he had been affecting the sleeping habits of Red. The thought that something unforeseen could happen that could lead to that awful death had consumed him. Yet, he hadn't wanted to confess this to his lover. He had been trying to quench the burning fears that had engulfed him. Somehow, in a matter of minutes, all his fears were splashed before him. His secrets were exposed as if put under a spotlight, right there for the other Tallest to examine and explore.

Silence settled over their elegant quarters as Red did just that. His deeply garnet eyes moved over those violet gemstones, reading everything without even bothering to try. There was a wisdom there that was unmatched by any in the Empire. Purple sat in that tension, his back tight enough to crack his body in half for all the stress of this. At long last, he turned his eyes to the side, furious at having been discovered. There was no time to be angry, though. The moment he removed his stare, that curvy frame uncurled itself from about that plush pillow. His counterpart lazily sat up as if unaffected by all that he saw in the mind of his co-ruler. He perched himself on the pillow, tucking his ankles over one another before leaning back so his palms were laying on another pillow. The position was authoritative, as he was looking down at Purple.

" I'll calling Zim. You need to see for yourself that he isn't doing anything stupid," Red firmly stated, pointing to their massive telecommunications screen. Purple attempted to protest with a less then subtle pout. He was shut down before he could really get going, thus ruining the effect entirely, " No. I've had enough of this. I'm not going through this the entire pregnancy. Now, look, Purple, I know Zim's an idiot, but he's done this before. He's probably sound asleep right now. I mean, c'mon, the kid's partially deaf. I'm sure he can sleep through a galactic takeover, let alone some alien jabbering on and on,"

" Yeah. . . yeah. You're probably right. . ." he mumbled, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. Red rolled his eyes, reaching over to turn on the controls needed to send out the transmission. One of the younger Tallest's eyes narrowed, his antennae popping up, " You mean he's really deaf?"

" Of course, he is. You really think he repeats himself three, four, six times because he isn't paying attention? Zim may be a useless Invader nowadays, but he did at one time _earn_ that title. If he hadn't been paying attention, he wouldn't have obtained Elite status," he answered with a hearty laugh at the other's expense. He received a smack to the arm for his gall. The action went unnoticed as he typed in the coordinates for the transmission. Pressing a smilie face button, he sent out the waves towards the distant planet of Earth. A dial tone symbol appeared on their screen.

" Oh. Right," he said in a slightly dejected voice. For so long, Purple had assumed that Zim had hearing issues, but nothing as serious as being partially deaf. He had always taken it as the Invader being hard of hearing, most likely an adverse side effect of being around such loud machinery. Knowing otherwise now, though, he motioned to his own antennae, " Which one?"

" Both,"

Nothing else was said after that, though, for the dial tone image had changed to an Irken smilie face. The symbol blinked a few times as a monotone voice informed them that they were experiencing some tracking issues. Purple exhaled loudly while Red patiently waited by giving the screen a cross look. A second later, the voice of the often sickly computer at the Invader's base came on over the voice of the usual transmitter. It informed the two rulers that he was connecting them to the screen nearest his master and to bare with him. A couple of seconds later, however, their screen turned on to a scene that made both their jaws drop as their eyes opened to their full oval sizes and shapes.

Irken Invader Zim was slamming his foot into the Dib human's head with enough force to crack the alien's skull into the floor where he was sprawled underneath the soldier.

Suddenly, Purple's fears didn't seem unwarranted at all.


End file.
